Fernvale resident terrorised by bees: I felt my life was in danger

When Ms Chen Youzhen was preparing to leave work after her night shift, the last thing she expected was a call from her neighbour warning her of bees.

Around 10pm last Wednesday, bees swarmed the corridor of the 22nd storey at Block 453D Fernvale Road.

Ms Chen, 41, a salesperson, said: "I called my 15-year-old son to warn him to close all the windows and stay indoors."

She said that when she reached the ground level of her block around 11pm, she could see the bees on the 22nd storey, outside her unit.

When the elevator doors opened on her level, she said she was confronted by 50 to 60 bees.

Said Ms Chen: "I felt my life was in danger and I was scared."

She was carrying three or four bags after shopping.

Using one of the bags, she covered her face and ran to her flat, getting stung three to five times.

When she got home, she called the Ang Mo Kio Town Council. Half an hour later, personnel from a pest control company arrived, and killed the bees in two hours.

Ms Chen, who has lived there for five years, told The New Paper last Thursday: "I noticed bees flying into my home three months ago, but I did not think much of it.

"I never expected that in one night, the outer wall would be swarming with bees."

TOO AFRAID

She added that the family do not open their windows now.

A 45-year-old resident, who lives on the 26th storey, told Chinese-language evening daily Lianhe Wanbao: "My younger cousin who was staying with me was too afraid to go home because of the bees.

"He felt safe enough to go home only around 3am after the bees were gone."

When a Lianhe Wanbao reporter arrived there last Thursday at 9am, he saw a cleaner clearing the dead bees.

The reporter saw a hive at the end of the corridor on the outer wall.

A spokesman for the Ang Mo Kio Town Council told TNP it was aware of the bee sightings and had activated pest control to tackle the issue.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.