Singapore — It’s been over a year since two Fernvale residents were reported for keeping and feeding cockroaches, worms, and birds in the public spaces of a housing block.
Things improved. But only temporarily.
Neighbours complain that the residents who had been breeding these animals at the staircase landings on the fourth and fifth floors of Block 468B Fernvale Link appear to have gone back to their old ways.
To recap: On Nov 26, 2020, a netizen sent a video to crowdsourced news site Stomp of birds, cockroaches, and worms at the staircase landing and said that this had been going on for months.
“On Level 5’s Staircase B are two shocking things,” they told Stomp.
“There are worms alive inside a small plastic container with food inside as well. Below the bigger container, you can see a paper tray used for holding eggs with live cockroaches and there is food inside too.
Moving down to the Level 4 staircase, I saw a blue cage with three small parrots inside. These lovely birds were abandoned outside at the staircase, and the floor is all soiled with birds droppings and food.”
They said that the noise and mess the birds made, plus the presence of the worms and cockroaches were a cause of stress as well as a potential health hazard.
Later on, the Ang Mo Kio Town Council told Stomp that the resident responsible had removed the items and that the area had been cleaned.
However, according to a Dec 27, 2021, report in The New Paper, it’s back to what it used to be.
The netizen who shared the video to Stomp over a year ago said that the man on the fourth floor who owns the birds still leaves its cage outside daily before he goes to work.
“The birds will start to chirp and attract wild birds with their noise and food.”
As for the man on the fifth floor, he still keeps his worms and cockroaches in the corridor, which also attracts wild birds.
“Despite (MY) using the OneService app to report this and emailing the various authorities, the matter is still not resolved even after one year,” said the neighbour.
The Ang Mo Kio Town Council again said that the residents were told to keep common areas free and that they removed the birdcage and container, but the netizen said these are just returned, and provided pictures of the birdcage on the fourth-floor corridor last week.
Commenters on Facebook condemned this behaviour, with one even calling them “Neighbour(s) from Hell.”
Other netizens agreed, calling the neighbours “inconsiderate” and “so sway.”
At least one netizen expressed a health concern.
Another suggested a solution to the problem.
/TISG