Together with sculptures of carps and other sea creatures, sculptures of mermaids are housed in what was once a swimming pool at Haw Par Villa. Originally called Tiger Balm Gardens, the villa was located along Pasir Panjang Road and was also an entertainment and educational park that displayed statues and tableaux featuring anecdotes from Chinese legends and folklore. After the war, Aw Boon Haw, who built Haw Par Villa in 1937, had the pool drained and filled it with various forms of marine life. A prominent businessman and philanthropist, Aw’s name became synonymous with Tiger Balm, the renowned analgesic balm that he and his younger brother, Aw Boon Par, successfully marketed in Singapore and around the Southeast Asian region.
