• The flea market was known as “贼市场” (literally, “thieves’ market”), or sometimes “小偷市场” (“petty thieves’ market”), because it was where thieves were said to sell their stolen goods.
• The market was formed around the mid-1930s, and in its heyday, it sold not only used goods but also food and snacks.
• The market was also referred to by the name of its location. Sungei Road was known to the Chinese most commonly as “结霜桥” (in reference to the bridge leading to the ice factory nearby), but also as “淡水河” (as Sungei Road runs beside the freshwater Rochor River) and “港仔墘” (another colloquial name for the area).
• In the 1920s and 1930s, there was an ice-making plant located on Sungei Road near the river called the Singapore Ice Works, which could only be accessed by crossing a bridge that spanned the Rochor Canal. Hence, the colloquial name gek sng kio or gat sng kio originated from the Teochew and Hokkien term “结霜” (gek sng or gat sng), which also means “to form ice”.
• In August 1982, the market was closed for a period of time as a result of the Urban Renewal Plan’s implementation, but re-opened again soon after.
• The flea market officially became history on 10 July 2017.

Filmmaker Ong Kah Jing opined that his documentary was like a time capsule that would allow future generations to experience the different faces of the now defunct “Thieves’ Market”. (8world, 12/19/2019)

• There is an amusing anecdote about the Sungei Road Flea Market: A car owner bought a hubcap for $2 at the Sungei Road Flea Market. When he returned to his car, he discovered that the hubcap he was holding was actually taken off his car.
• In the early 1970s, Sungei Road was also a place where army surplus goods were sold. At the time, Singapore had just implemented National Service, and muddle-headed recruits would come here to buy military training equipment that they had lost, to avoid being punished by their commanders.