Fed up with fumes from nearby restaurant, Chinatown resident puts up message on flat windows
Residents of a flat in Chinatown are sick and tired of putting up with cooking fumes from a restaurant under their block.
How do we know this? They put up a message saying as much on the windows of their 7th-storey unit at Block 533 Upper Cross Street.
The message, written in neon green Chinese characters, reads: "Bullying the residents" and "Daily oily fumes".
The relevant authorities are “hashtagged” as well, as the acronyms "NEA", "SFA", "HDB" and "JBTC", are visible on one of the panes. They stand for National Environment Agency, Singapore Food Agency and Housing & Development Board, and Jalan Besar Town Council, respectively.
The message was spotted by a member of the public on Sept 30, who alerted Shin Min Daily News to it.
However, when Shin Min paid a visit to the flat, no one seemed to be home.
Neighbours said the unit was occupied by a middle-aged woman. It was not known how long the message had been put up for.
Shin Min did report that the cooking fumes – from Yan Palace restaurant on the ground floor of Block 531 – were almost palpable.
Another resident on the same floor as the unit said he could smell the fumes during lunch and dinner almost every day.
He added that the restaurant’s kitchen exhaust ventilation pipes were extended to the fourth floor.
No complaints
A person in charge of Yan Palace told Shin Min that they hadn’t received any complaints about the cooking fumes, and that the restaurant cleans the exhaust once every three months.
The restaurant said: "The authorities might have received complaints before, as they did send people to inspect the situation and asked us to reduce the emission of cooking fumes. Purifiers were installed in May."
The restaurant apologised to the residents affected, but hoped that they would be more understanding.
The spokesman also said they hoped residents would report any concerns directly to them. And if the issue persists even after inspection, the restaurant will send someone to the unit to help solve it.
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