A Hougang resident found that her vehicle was unable to start after rats chewed through its wires earlier this month.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, she shared that the incident was the result of an uncontrollable rat infestation in her neighbourhood.
Addressing the matter, an Ang Mo Kio Town Council spokesman said they activated a pest control team to inspect the carpark for rat burrows.
Ms Guo, a resident in the area, shared that there’s been a rat problem at HDB blocks 627 to 629 in Hougang Avenue 8 for many years now.
Source: Google Maps
Two years after moving to the neighbourhood, she said that she has seen rodents in the carpark and near the elevator on an almost daily basis.
At first, Ms Guo assumed it would not affect her since the rodents never entered her house.
She then noticed rat droppings on the engine of her car in December last year.
“My neighbor also discovered the same problem in Block 625 when he parked nearby, so I started to report it to the residents’ committee,” said Ms Guo.
At 12pm on 6 Jan this year, Ms Guo found that her car could not start and had it towed to a repair shop for S$70.
An employee at the shop told her that rats had chewed through the wires.
Though they said that the situation was not serious, she had paid S$50 for the repairs.
However, if such an incident occurred again, replacing all the wires could cost about as high as S$2,000 to S$3,000.
Ms Guo told Shin Min Daily News that she believed many residents had complained to the authorities about the infestation.
For the past two years, they had been handling the situation by placing traps or feeding the pests rat poison.
“Once, my husband stepped on a dead rat while walking. I myself have seen a dying rat in the stairwell,” she said, adding that authorities should step up sanitation efforts in the area to deal with the infestation.
Another resident, Mr Liao, told the Chinese daily that a rat had also chewed through one of his car’s wires. Replacing it cost him S$600.
“Authorities should contact pest management experts to resolve the issue or arrange for a large-scale deep cleaning,” he said.
Responding to queries by Shin Min Daily News, the Ang Mo Kio Town Council said it was aware of the rat infestation in the carpark of Block 628 in Hougang Avenue 8.
A spokesperson from the town council said that authorities have received reports from residents on 11 Jan that the vehicles parked there sustained damage from the rats.
“We have engaged with the resident and the insurance company will follow up,” they said.
To maintain the cleanliness of the surrounding environment, the spokesperson said the town council activated a pest control team to thoroughly inspect the carpark for rat burrows.
Officers from the team then investigated and found no active rat burrows in the area. They will subsequently carry out measures to control the infestation around the site.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.
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