The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion's head and the body of a fish that is widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.

It has subsequently been joined by a Merlion cub, which is located near the original statue and measures just 2 metres tall.

[3][4] This massive statue with the spouting stream was constructed by Stanley Mok [5] Upon the completion of the Esplanade Bridge in 1997, the original Merlion Park location was also no longer the entrance of Singapore River and the statue could no longer be viewed clearly from the Marina Bay Waterfront.

[3] On 23 April 2002, the statue was relocated to a new pier specially built on the other side of The Esplanade Bridge adjacent to The Fullerton Hotel.

Staff in the vicinity said they heard an explosion followed by a loud thud when broken pieces fell to the ground.