Bukit Batok grocers lose goods to rat infestation
Hawkers and grocers at Bukit Batok East Avenue 4 are plauged by a rat infestation that seems to be going out of hand.
At least six shop owners said they had seen rats and items in two of the shops were damaged by the rodents.
Grocery store clerk Ye Yanhua, 56, said she has been working in the store for eight years and had faced troubled by rat infestation from time to time.
"We don't know where the rats are nesting but we often see rats running into our store and biting the goods. They are fat and big," she told Shin Min Daily News.
Ms Ye on Nov 23 found a bag of bread that had been bitten, so she had to take the bread off the shelf.
Reporters found that in addition to bread, a bag of noodles and a bag of salted fish had also been bitten.
"This happens almost every day," said Ms Ye.
"We previously hired someone to catch the rats but it didn't work. Every time we catch a rat, there will be new ones. There must be rat holes nearby, the rats keep multiplying.
"Later we set up sticky mouse traps ourselves and we caught some."
Ms Zheng, a 45-year-old resident, said she goes to the coffee shop at Block 273 every morning.
"My husband runs a shop nearby, so he goes out at around 4am every day and heads to the coffee shop for breakfast," she told the Chinese daily.
"Almost every morning, I see rats running around on the empty shelves of the stalls and even climbing on eggs. There would be rats at the bowl collection area."
The Jurong-Clementi Town Council said it was aware of the incident and that rats were found at Blocks 273, 274, 278 and 279.
The spokesperson said the team had increased patrols in affected areas to find the cause of the rat infestation and taken necessary rat control measures such as setting traps.
"In addition, we have made changes to our routine cleaning and maintenance schedule to prevent any environmental factors that may attract pests. We will continue to advise food and beverage operators and the public to practise proper cleaning and housekeeping practices to avoid future issues."
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