Police are trying to find out who put up large cardboard cut-outs of cartoon white elephants in a Singapore suburb last month to grab the attention of a visiting government minister.

"Someone has filed a police report and an investigation has been initiated," a police spokesman said on Monday.

He said police were also on the lookout for the cut-outs, which vanished on the same day that the minister spotted them outside an urban railway station.

The elephants were seen as a none-too subtle reference to the station, still unopened two years after it was built. The government has refused to allow services to the station, saying there were not enough households within a 400-metre radius.

Although Singapore community development, youth and sports minister Vivian Balakrishnan was reportedly amused by the unexpected appearance of the cut-outs on his August 28 visit, the authorities appear to be less so.

The perpetrators "may have committed an offence" under Singapore's Public Entertainments and Meetings Act which requires a licence to be obtained for exhibits and posters that are put up for public display, the police spokesman said.

Offenders can be fined up to S$1,000 ($600) under the Act.

"At the end of the day, we have to consult with the Attorney-General's Chambers to see what is the appropriate action to take," he added.

Singapore laws require a permit for gatherings of 5 or more, and consequently public demonstrations are rare in the tiny island republic still ruled by the same political party 40 years after independence.

Last month, police broke up a demonstration of four people demanding greater transparency in the state-managed pension fund and other government-linked agencies.

In July, vandals daubed the National Kidney Foundation headquarters with abuse after revelations that the then-chief of the country's biggest charity was taking home S$650,000 ($388,800) annually in salary and perks.

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