The management of mixed-use development Marina One were caught threatening to impose a hefty $107 fine inclusive of GST on contractors and workers who use the washroom in the building’s first and second levels.
Marina One, also known as Marina One The Heart, is owned by M+S – a joint venture between Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and its Malaysian counterpart Khazanah Nasional. The development, which features commercial, retail and residential components, is located at 5 Straits View in the Marina Bay area.
Facebook user Martha Tara Lee captured a photo of a sign that warns contractors and workers against contravening rules that they must only use the washroom in Basement 2:
Was shocked to see this outside level one toilet at Marina One The Heart yesterday. I showed my photo of this sign to my Japanese friend whom I was with who said, "This won't happen in Japan." #singapore
Posted by Martha Tara Lee on Thursday, 7 June 2018
The photo capturing the sign drew mixed reactions online. Some felt that the fine is “draconian” and that the rule is “discriminatory” while others saw nothing wrong with such policies that are supposedly observed in other buildings for the sake of cleanliness:
Some netizens pointed out that while the practice might be common, the notice threatening a harsh fine seems condescending:
M+S has since apologised for “any concern the sign may have caused”. In a statement yesterday evening, M+S revealed that it is industry practice to have designated toilets for workers at newly completed developments.
The group’s spokesman added: “This practice ensures that there isn’t any confusion for those needing to use the toilets, who may think that contractors are there to fix an issue. It also keeps out any construction dust from these facilities, for the comfort of the users.”
The spokesman further revealed that no contractor or worker has been fined so far and that the sign has been reworded. The new sign reportedly does not threaten a fine.
These assurances, however, have failed to deter some netizens from flooding the Marina One location page on Facebook with negative ratings. The page has 9 public ratings and all are 1-star ratings. Every rating on the page was posted today:
Marina One was last in the news in March 2017 after a construction worker fell nearly 20 storeys to death at the worksite, hitting another worker on the 3rd level. The fatal accident involved a 21-year-old Bangladeshi worker who fell from the 22nd storey and was found on the third storey without a safety harness.
The worker had hit another Bangladeshi worker when his body landed on the third level. This 38-year-old sustained neck injuries from the incident.