'How many can you count?' Clementi resident shocked to see 'whole bunch of rats' near coffee shop

They seemed to be attracted to dumpsters.

A Clementi resident was shocked to see "a whole bunch of rats" at the back of Block 451 Clementi Avenue 3 in the early hours of Deepavali morning (Oct 24).

He is concerned as a number of food outlets are in the area.

Stomp contributor SG Feedback shared a YouTube video of the rats recorded at 2am.

"I was out till late as the next day would be a public holiday and was planning to buy some groceries at the 24-hour FairPrice outlet, which is towards the front of the same building, before heading home," said the Stomp contributor.

"I had previously seen a few stray rats running here and there, but I was shocked to see so many rats scurrying around at night.

"Watch the video in its entirety and answer this question: How many rats can you count?

"In fact, I'm guessing there were way more rats than those I caught on video."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9eDTjwPTME&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=SGFeedback[/embed]

There appear to be up to a dozen around the dumpsters in the video, but getting the exact number would be hard because the same rodent may appear more than once.

The Stomp contributor said: "I worry about the cleanliness and hygiene of this area as this spot is near a coffee shop just across a small road and a small McDonald's outlet nearby, and it's a stone's throw away from the main food centre at Block 448."

Google Maps show the coffee shop at Block 449 Clementi Avenue 3 opposite the dumpsters.

In the video, a rat can be seen running across the road from the coffee shop side to the dumpsters side using the zebra crossing.

In response to a Stomp query, a Jurong-Clementi Town Council spokesman said: "Town council inspections found that shop owners and eating house operators placed uncovered bins at the apron.

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"There was also spillage of refuse in the common areas which may have potentially attracted rats into the area.

"The shop owners and eating house operators have been advised and reminded about good housekeeping and refuse management practices. We have also required them to step up their rat control measures."

"Our cleaners will continue working on timely removal of waste and spilled refuse left behind the shop units.

"Our town council will continue rodent control efforts."

This is the second rat sighting Stomp has reported in less than a week.

On Oct 26, Stomp reported that numerous rats were caught on video around a coffee shop at Block 414 Yishun Ring Road on Oct 15, but the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said: "There were no rodent activities observed during SFA’s inspection."

This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.