The Sunday Times, 25 Sept 2005
by Sarah Ng
'I waited for 4 hours, but NEA men never came"
Taxi driver Lye Yeok Seng, 47, panicked and thought loan sharks were after him when he saw a notice written in English stuck to the door of his flat.
The Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 resident later found out it was from the National Environment Agency (NEA). It required him to allow inspectors to check his home for mosquitoes or risk having them break his lock to get in.
Hawker assistant Ng Siew Ying took a morning off work after receiving the notice. But the NEA officers who were supposed to inspect her flat never turned up. She had to forego $20 in pay.
The war against dengue, which has claimed 10 lives here so far this year, is making some homeowners confused, panicky and unhappy.
The Sunday Times spoke to residents in Blocks 465 and 466 at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 after receiving a tip-off about the notices pasted on some doors last Wednesday.
Most of the 30 Ang Mo Kio homeowners interviewed by The Sunday Times said that they understood the need for officers to inspect their homes but added that NEA could do more to iron out their administrative hiccups, and lessen their confusion.
For example, residents in the two blocks were supposed to have received an initial letter on Sept 5, asking them to call the NEA to arrange for an inspection. But those interviewed said they never received it.
So, when they saw the notices pasted on their doors, they panicked and thought the authorities would enter their homes by force.
Some called the telephone number on the letter slipped under their doors the same day the notices were pasted, but no one answered.
Others could not read English and did not understand either the notice or the letter.
And at least two residents said the inspectors never showed up at the time stated on the notices.
Mr Lye panicked when he saw the notice on his front door after returning home from work at 1 am. He was relieved that a loan shark had not pasted it, but the notice was not particularly comforting.
It said that if he was not home to let inspectors into his home at the stated time, they could enter it to check for mosquitoes breeding. If he did not cooperate, he could be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to three months or both
He said that he was shocked at first, but plans to call the NEA to arrange for an inspection time.
Madam Ng, 63, who is hard of hearing, sat near front door for four hours so she couldhear the officers when they arrived. They never did.
Her neighbour, Madam Lee Siew Chin, 48, a seamstress who works in a factory, added: "I don't mind taking the day off because dengue is very serious. But I am upset that the officers didn't turn up as scheduled. It was a waste of my time."
NEA's Environmental Health Department chief S. Satish Appoo said the agency was fixing the problems. For starters, the said the explanation letter that accompanies the notices stuck on front doors will include translations in Malay, Chinese and Tamil, in addition to English.
More staff will also be deployed to man the telephone during office hours.
He also told The Sunday Times that he would investigate the two no-shows, and apologised the two residents.
Mr Appoo could not say how many notices have been pasted on doors islandwide, but he said NEA has not had to break any locks to inspect homes yet. It will do so only as a last resort - if more dengue cases are reported in the area and if there is clear indication that the units are contributing to the problem.
His advice: Call the NEA for an inspection as soon as they receive that first letter so the homes an be checked quickly.
Resident said they would cooperate.
Sales executive Alan Tay, 35, said: " We are more than happy to be home for the inspection, but they should try to minimise the inconveniences and confusion by doing their part too."
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