NEA officers act on rat menace around Orchard Plaza

Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid Channel NewsAsia 7 May 10;

SINGAPORE : Officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) are giving chase to rats plaguing areas around Orchard Plaza.

A day after a Channel NewsAsia report on the rat menace there, NEA officers combed the area.

They uncovered some 25 burrows, which were then treated with pest control chemicals. Officers also trapped 25 rats and mice.

NEA said such rodents typically dwell in buildings where rubbish is not cleared properly or have available food sources.

It said building owners and management have the responsibility to keep their premises free of rats.

The agency is doing a comprehensive assessment of the building.

Meanwhile, the work to flush out the rat menace continues.

An order to undertake specific measures to address the infestation can be imposed. And failure to comply can result in fines of up to $50,000.

Tai Ji Choong, head of Operations, Environmental Health Department, NEA said: "NEA will continue with our efforts in routine sanitation and hygiene checks on rodents, especially in the vicinity of food establishments and in refuse bin centres.

"While we work with building managers and food operators to adopt necessary practices to keep rodent infestation at bay, we believe that public feedback is also an integral part of our rodent control efforts.

"So, we encourage the public to give us feedback whenever there are rodents sightings so that we can carry out surveillance and control operations to address any rodent infestation." - CNA /ls

Rats spotted outside Orchard Plaza
Zhao Quan Yin, Ng Jing Yng Channel NewsAsia 5 May 10;

SINGAPORE : Rats have been spotted just outside Orchard Plaza. Shop owners there said the rats have been seen around the area for the past six months.

Toss a piece of bread into the shrubbery alongside Orchard Plaza and you will likely see a rat making a run for it.

Shop owners said there are some 50 rats calling the shrubbery home.

"They are an ugly sight and also they are not healthy," said shop owner Erik Gidwani. He added that it was unsightly for tourists walking in the area to see rats "moving around so openly".

Shop owners said the rats run towards the shops when it rains.

"You can hear them running, from the rooftop to the fourth floor. Sometimes they move around slowly, but other times they scuttle past loudly," another said.

While their business has not been affected, shop owners are worried about potential health problems and have complained to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

NEA said during its recent inspection, two rodent burrows were spotted in the shrubbery.

It said the rubbish point, which is at the back of the building, could be the main reason behind the problem and advised shop owners to dispose of their food and garbage properly.

Read more about the story in Thursday's edition of the TODAY newspaper.

- CNA/al
Unwelcome visitors spotted in Orchard Road
Ng Jing Yng Today Online 6 May 10;

SINGAPORE - Rats in busy Orchard Road? Yes, many of them - bigger than the palm of your hand - have been showing up in the stretch of bushes and trees outside Orchard Plaza over the last few months.

And their numbers have shot up in the past month, said tenants of the mall. Scores of the rodents could be seen dashing around, especially in the evening.

When it rained last week, graphic design shop owner Richard Wong, 48, who was carrying his 15-month-old son, panicked at the sight of rats scrambling into his shop and dropped his child. Fortunately, the child was unhurt. But Mr Wong lamented: "What will tourists think when they see rats running around in Orchard Road?"

Mr Wong, who has been renting the shop space for the past three years, said bread kept in his shop had also been eaten by the rats during the night. Other tenants told MediaCorp the presence of eateries in the vicinity could have attracted the rats.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said they detected two rodent burrows after an inspection last week and have since treated them. "The availability of food sources such as food waste could have contributed to the presence of rodents," said an NEA spokesperson.

However, MediaCorp still spotted a few rats among the greenery when we visited the area yesterday. And when the tenants dropped pieces of bread, more appeared, grabbed the food and scurried away.

Tailor shop owner Eric Gidwani, 51, feels if the green belt here is converted into a cemented walkway, the rats will go away. "The presence of rats bothers us - they make it very hard for us to concentrate on doing our business," he said.

Camera shop owner Mr Jeffrey Liew, 50, was equally piqued, saying that potential customers have stayed away after hearing of rats in the area and business has shrunk by 25 per cent.

Urging proper waste management, the NEA said enforcement action will be taken against any parties who fail to do so.