Oh rats! This is Orchard Road

Rodent problem in the shopping belt seems to have worsened over the last two years
Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times 25 Jan 09;

It's 11pm at Somerset Skate Park. The lights are off and most of the skaters have gone home. The ground is strewn with food boxes that contain scraps of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

There is a flash of bright eyes and a rat scurries across the park, heading for the leftovers.

By 2am, there are more than 10 rats scampering about.

The Skate Park is just one of several rat-prone areas to have emerged in the Orchard and Somerset areas over the last two years, said those who work at and frequent the stretch.

Pest control company Rentokil said it received about 25 calls last year to kill rats in Orchard Road, mainly from shopping malls.

Said a Rentokil spokesman: 'Rodents multiply at a very fast rate and when there is overcrowding, some will migrate elsewhere for survival. They can travel through pipes, drains and sewers.'

Mr Marco Ang, 30, a surveyor at a pest control company who received a complaint about rats in Lucky Plaza last year, said that the presence of the rodents was due to open rubbish chutes in the area.

While rats are common in urban areas, the problem in the shopping district appears to have worsened.

Ms Jocelyn Huang, 18, a part-time server at K-Box in Cineleisure, sees them at the Skate Park bus stop on her way home every night.

'A couple of years ago, there were rats occasionally. Now I see them every night,' she said.

Added the Rentokil spokesman: 'The problem may be due to the presence of ongoing construction work and landscaping where cleanliness may be compromised.'

Major construction works in Orchard and Somerset include the site of the old Phoenix Hotel, opposite Somerset Skate Park and malls like Ion Orchard.

Behind Lucky Plaza, the rats run in drains and even enter the building.

Mr Albert Cho, 45, the proprietor of House of Times watch shop there, said he can hear the rats in the false ceilings. 'Last year, a few shopowners chased some rats in front of my shop. The rodents had gnawed through the briefcases of a shop nearby,' he recalled.

Student Joyce Tan, 18, who mans a drinks kiosk outside Lucky Plaza part-time, saw a rat last week. 'Once, the rats ate our sweets. I saw the teeth marks on the sweets,' she said.

Outside Ngee Ann City, two or three rats emerge from the roadside foliage to scavenge for food every night, said buskers along the stretch.

Ms Jansen Helen, 52, the mother of two buskers from Mongolia, said she sees them whenever she watches her daughters perform outside the mall.

'They run on the pavement and don't seem scared of people. They're about 12cm long, but skinny. It's disgusting,' she said.

Vendors at the hawker centre in Youth Park said that they started seeing rats on the premises recently and a pest control company was called in to get rid of them.

A satay stall vendor who wanted to be known only as Ms Maria, 45, said that the rats would come from the bushes and eat scraps that customers dropped.

The pests sometimes cross paths with customers.

Mr Sun Zhao Yang, a cleaner at Wisma Atria's Food Republic, recalled a rat falling from the ceiling four months ago.

He said: 'It fell onto an empty table, next to one that was taken, and some customers screamed. I got rid of it. There hasn't been any more rat sightings since.'

A spokesman for the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that it has not found signs of rat infestation in the Orchard MRT station, the walkway between Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City, and the food court at Takashimaya.

However, it has noted some rodent activity in the false ceiling of the Food Republic food court.

Said the NEA spokesman: 'We do not discount the possibility that there could be rodents in Orchard Road should food establishments become careless in managing their food waste.'

He added that NEA has been working with operators of food outlets to ensure they dispose of food properly.

Last Friday, NEA advised Food Republic on how to solve the pest problem. The food court management has implemented control measures and NEA is monitoring it closely.

A spokesman for Wisma Atria said: 'Since construction started at Ion Orchard in 2006, we have anticipated a potential rat problem and have stepped up control measures like traps.

'We have also been working with tenants, like Food Republic, to have twice-monthly pest control checks. The problem is well managed though there may be the occasional presence of a rat.'

A spokesman for Food Republic said that since the incident of the rat falling from the roof, it has had no more complaints or sightings. It had also increased its pest control efforts since 2006.

The NEA said rat problems can be prevented by properly managing food waste. Rentokil added that all foodstuff should be stored in covered containers, rubbish bags should be tied and rubbish bin lids should be shut tightly.

However, the rats have gone largely unnoticed by shoppers. Those The Sunday Times spoke to said they were unaware of the rats in Orchard Road, and would still frequent it.

Said Ms Jeanette Sim, 26, a customer service officer who shops there every week: 'I haven't seen any rats here. I think it's still very clean and I will still come to Orchard Road.'