PUBLISHED ONOctober 28, 2022 7:21 AMByClaudia TanWanting to voice his grievances about his estate's cleanliness, a man wrote to Stomp to 'expose' a cleaner for using his phone at work.
Instead, this resident ended up getting plenty of brickbats over his attempt to shame that cleaner.
The resident, who goes by Epin, had secretly recorded a video of a cleaner using his mobile phone while sitting at a void deck in Sengkang, reported Stomp on Friday (Oct 28).
Calling the cleaner "useless" and "lazy", Epin wrote: "When there's only one cleaner taking care of our estate, instead of doing his duty, he's busy playing with his [handphone] in the early morning [sic]."
He went on to question if he and his fellow residents were "shortchanged for the maintenance and cleanliness" of their estate.
Epin also shared screenshots of his previous correspondence with the Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) about the poor estate maintenance and refuge management at Block 417 Fernvale Link.
However, Epin's complaint didn't sit well with some netizens, who told him to "be more understanding" towards the cleaner.
"He is a human and not [a] machine. Show some compassion," reasoned one netizen.
One netizen suggested that Epin strike a conversation with the cleaner, instead of taking a video behind his back.
Responding to Stomp's queries, the AMKTC explained that the cleaners typically start work "as early as 6.30am or 7.30am", and have "a set of routine tasks to be completed".
"After completing one or more of their routine cleaning tasks, they would take a quick break before proceeding to their next task," they wrote.
The town council shared that cleaners are required to check for work instructions from their foreman or town council staff through their mobile phones.
"We seek the understanding of residents that cleaners too would need to take short breaks from time to time as they work through the day.
"On our end, the town council monitors and ensures that the necessary cleaning works are done to keep our estates clean."
Back in 2020, the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council posted an interview with a cleaner who works in the Paya Lebar ward.
In the video, Ong Teng Kee, who has been an estate cleaner for seven years, shared some of the struggles estate cleaners face while on the job.
"There are two times in a year where we have to work a lot harder," Ong said in Mandarin. "[The first is] the Chinese New Year spring cleaning period where people will throw a lot of stuff out. Another is the seventh month where residents will pray and place offerings along the corridor.
"They will shout 'Huat ah!' and throw the paper offerings happily while we cleaners will have a hard time sweeping it up."
Ong also admitted that his knees would hurt whenever he was sweeping the stairwell.
claudiatan@asiaone.com
