SHE ALSO SLEEPS IN DIRTY FACTORY

LITTLE GIRL PLAYS IN DIRTY FACTORY

 

SHE ALSO SLEEPS IN DIRTY FACTORY

 

HDB investigating feedback that tenants of two units at Tampines industrial estate are living there

 

TO the children, it’s home.

 

By Desmond Ng

 

 

07 May 2008

 

TO the children, it’s home.

 

They have pet dogs and toys and leave for school from there.

 

After school, they head back there.

 

But home to these kids is neither a house nor a flat.

 

It’s a flatted factory unit in Tampines industrial estate, the same place where The New Paper recently found foreign workers living illegally.

 

The units in the estate, managed by the Housing Board (HDB), are meant for light industrial activities such as printing, manufacturing and production.

 

They are not meant to be used as residences.

 

The corridors are often busy with workers operating fork-lifts. And it’s on the same corridors that the children play catch with their pet dogs.

 

Is this any way to bring up children, asked a reader who wanted to be known as Patrick.

 

Declining to give his name and occupation for fear of his safety, he had tipped off The New Paper about families living illegally there.

 

‘I don’t think it’s a good environment to bring up your children.

 

‘It’s dirty, noisy and could be dangerous. They should be brought up in a proper home,’ he said.

 

SOUND OF KIDS’ LAUGHTER

 

He said he has noticed these children living in the estate for at least five years.

 

The children are believed to belong to two families, although a man who said he’s a relative of one girl claimed she stayed over only occasionally.

 

The children try to keep a low profile, although they can be seen playing along the corridors during the day.

 

Over a few days, The New Paper team observed one family apparently living in one of the units on the third floor of the flatted factory.

 

The unit was occupied by two children of primary-school age and their father. We didn’t see their mother.

 

On one weekday night, we could hear them laughing inside the unit. It was about 10 pm, and most of the workers had left.

 

A signboard stating ‘Weng Seng Engraving’ was displayed outside their unit.

 

But when we peeked inside, there was no equipment to suggest a business of that nature.

 

Instead, inside the dimly-lit unit were a stove, a refrigerator, a small oven, a sofa, some clothes, toys and a study table.

 

We couldn’t linger for long because of a yappy Jack Russell terrier.

 

A man came out and we inquired about engraving services but he said that he didn’t provide such services.

 

We also tried to speak to workers in neighbouring units, but they were tight-lipped and didn’t want to say anything to expose their neighbour.

 

On two separate weekday mornings just before 7, we saw the father leaving the unit with the children, seemingly to take them to school.

 

That was when the estate was quiet and all the units were closed.

 

He was quite cautious and scanned the area several times before leaving the unit.

 

He drove an old second-hand Japanese car. There was no HDB season-parking label on its windscreen.

 

When we approached him on one of the mornings, the man denied he was living there, even though his two children were with him.

 

‘I don’t live here. This is my office,’ he replied curtly in Mandarin before walking away quickly.

 

A business search revealed that the engraving business had been dissolved about two years ago.

 

It was registered to a man with a residential address in Pasir Ris.

 

When we went to the HDB unit, a woman said the corner five-room flat was sold to her family about six months ago for about $340,000.

 

She didn’t know where the previous owner had moved to.

 

While observing the unit at the industrial estate, The New Paper team also noticed another family living in one of the units on the next floor.

 

We saw a girl leaving the unit in her primary school uniform in the wee hours of the morning.

 

She was heard saying, ‘Bye bye, mummy’ before leaving.

 

When this reporter tried to speak to her, she said she didn’t live there and ran off.

 

We saw her again on a few occasions playing with two puppies on that floor.

 

When we called the telephone number displayed outside the unit, a Mr Kang answered and said he was helping his relative to babysit her daughter, who is in primary school.

 

The company, he said, repairs air-conditioners and refrigerators.

 

Mr Kang said that his relative was from China and worked in a nearby factory. He didn’t know where the Singaporean father is.

 

He said in Mandarin: ‘Her mother comes here very early in the morning and leaves her here while she goes to work in a factory nearby. They both live in a rented flat in Bedok Reservoir.

 

‘I would rather she leave her daughter here when she’s working because they are renting from an old uncle who lives alone.’

 

Mr Kang said that when the mother works overtime, he would ask them to stay overnight.

 

He said: ‘But they don’t stay overnight often.

 

‘It’s just that if she finishes work after midnight, it can be dangerous for the two of them to walk home.’

 

He claims he doesn’t know much about the other family living there.

 

Said Mr Kang: ‘Anyway, it’s very safe in this block. Everybody knows everyone and we watch each other’s back. If anything happens to her (the little girl), I will have to bear much responsibility. ‘

 

The units here are under 1,000 sq ft each - about the size of an HDB five-room flat.

 

Rentals vary, but are typically about $1,000 a month.

 

Factory worker Michelle Chu, who is from Malaysia, said she has seen some children in the area but never knew that they lived there.

 

Said the 28-year-old: ‘I don’t think it’s right for the children to be living here.

 

‘But I’m sure the parents have their reasons for doing this. No parent will want their children to live in this area unless forced by circumstances. ‘

 

When contacted, HDB said the use of its flatted factories for residential purposes was not allowed. It said it had received feedback recently that the tenants of the two units are living there.

 

Said an HDB spokesman: ‘We’re investigating and if there is evidence that the units had been misused, we will serve notice to the tenants to terminate the tenancy.’

 

HDB added that it will also take action if there is feedback on misuse during its routine inspections.

 

‘We also regularly remind our industrial tenants against the misuse of the premises and the consequences.

 

‘For Tampines Industrial Park A, a general circular was sent to all tenants in February this year reminding them on the proper usage of their premises,’ added the spokesman.

 

The New Paper understands that to date, the HDB has not evicted or taken action against any tenants in Tampines or other industrial estates for using their units as residences.

 

Source: The New Paper