Drawn And Quartered

Robert-François Damiens, who attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757, was the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of death penalty reserved for regicides (deliberate killing of a monarch):

"He was condemned to be tortured with red-hot pincers on four limbs and on each breast. His wounds were to be sprinkled with molten lead and boiling oil and his body was then to be torn in pieces by four horses, the remains being subsequently burnt."

If you saw the teary-eyed Lui Tuck Yew on television, you would have thought that's how he imagined the horrible fate of Moulmein-Kallang GRC, drawn and quartered to be scattered to the  four constituencies: Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRC and the newly-created Jalan Besar GRC.

“For me of course there is a sense of disappointment because I have been with the residents for so many years already and I’ve really come to become very fond of them and I will miss them dearly.”

About to be derailed

Of course it's all play-acting. Following the cue of Lim Boon Heng, who cried like a baby after being told he was being laid off, and next rewarded with a plum assignment at Temasek Holdings, the bawling is just audition for higher office. Outdo Lim's histrionic theatrics, and Lui could be the next elected president. Just as many have forgotten about SR Nathan's service record with the Japanese police during World War II, nobody will remember the mess Lui made of the public transportation system.

And if the intel in the sidebar is accurate, Lui will still be around for awhile. In case you're are fantasizing about hooking him to four trains running in opposite directions of the North-South and East-West tracks, don't bother. His armed forces buddies will simply arrange for another simultaneous system breakdown, and the submariner will resurface to make our lives miserable again.