SINGAPORE: Tampines Town Council has yet to publicly respond to residents’ complaints that it has failed to resolve a persistent issue of urine stains and stench at a stairwell at Block 431 Tampines Street 4, despite complaints allegedly dating back years.
The issue came to light after Facebook user Sam Sokoloyo posted photos of the stairwell on social media. Mr Sam said that the urine stains and unpleasant smell have persisted for years and that he has been attempting to have the issue resolved once and for all since 2018 to no avail.
Revealing that he has been highlighting the issue to the town council and MP Mr Baey Yam Keng over the past five years, he said that the authorities put up posters to deter offenders from urinating in the stairwell, but the problem persists.
Suggesting that the town council could install surveillance cameras to monitor the situation, Mr Sam lamented that “every time they say will look into it, but the stain is still there”.
The town council has yet to respond to The Independent Singapore’s queries on the matter. Meanwhile, more residents have spoken up about the issue indicating that the problem is not unique to the stairwell Mr Sam posted about.
The issue is not isolated to the stairwell at Mr Sam’s floor, according to Channel 8 news. Reporters found urine stains and foul smells at the stairwells of multiple floors at Block 431 and other nearby blocks and said that the stairwells at the lower floors are particularly filthy.
Residents who spoke to the channel are unsure as to whether the cause of the stains and stench is due to animal or human urination.
One resident who just moved to Block 431 suspects that the stench and urine stains might be caused by cats in the area as he has seen several felines enter and exit the stairwell while waiting for the elevator.
Another resident asserted that the longstanding stench has seriously affected their lives. He said: “The urine smell is very strong and smells bad. I have called the town council to complain. After calling the council to complain, they sent someone down to clean up the stairs that day.”
Since the town council installed surveillance cameras, the area has been cleaner according to this resident, although he did notice that there is a lot of littering on the ground floor which could give rise to bad smells.