Hundreds of cockroaches allegedly invade Bukit Batok resident’s flat after rubbish chute fumigated

Hundreds of cockroaches allegedly invaded a Bukit Batok resident’s flat after a rubbish chute in her block was fumigated.

The resident lives at Block 203 Bukit Batok St 21. Her block underwent a scheduled fumigation exercise and residents were notified of the works.

What the resident did not expect was an onslaught of about 300 cockroaches swarming her home. The cockroaches are believed to have entered the home through the rubbish chute lid in her unit.

The resident shared a video of the infestation in her kitchen with Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan. The 6-second clip Dr Chee shared online shows several cockroaches scattered on the floor while some of the bugs scuttle up onto the kitchen counter.

Dr Chee, who has been active at Bukit Batok since 2016, said that the resident wondered when the last fumigation took place since the latest exercise resulted in such a bad infestation of the cockroaches.

Calling on the town council to explain to residents how the cleanliness of rubbish chutes is maintained and how these pests are controlled, Dr Chee urged residents to tape up their rubbish chute lids whenever fumigation is being carried out.

He also cautioned: “The problem is that if the family is away and no one is at home, the cockroaches that survive will crawl away, unseen, and start to breed.”

This is not the first time Dr Chee has highlighted municipal matters at Bukit Batok SMC. The veteran opposition leader, who unsuccessfully contested the single member ward in the 2016 by-election and 2020 general election, intends to recontest the ward in the next polls and has been actively walking the ground.

Aside from launching a grassroots campaign to help its residents, the SDP chief has also invited residents to write to him at a dedicated email address if they need help with any issue.

Dr Chee is so well known for raising issues on behalf of the residents that some of them tag him when they highlight concerns on the Facebook page of the area’s MP, the People’s Action Party’s Murali Pillai.