Jurong West resident takes down potted plants from ledge

A woman who had placed more than 40 potted plants on the corridor ledge outside her Jurong West flat has removed half of them, after being asked to do so by her town council.

Last Tuesday, a member of the public posted online a photograph of the potted plants along the third-storey corridor of Block 502 Jurong West Street 51.

The plastic and ceramic pots, which were placed on both sides of the handrail on the ledge, were secured to it with metal wires wrapped around or drilled through the pots.

Speaking with Chinese language newspaper Shin Min Daily News, the person had raised her concerns about the growing number of pots and the potential danger they pose if they should fall down, and said she had alerted the Jurong-Clementi Town Council about the matter.

Two days later, the town council issued an advisory notice to the resident to remove the pots on the ledge that were facing outside, away from the corridor.

REMOVE

When The New Paper visited the corridor last Thursday at around 6pm, the owner, a housewife in her 50s who wanted to be known only as Mrs Ong, was taking down the pots on the outside section of the ledge to the corridor floor and inside her corner-unit flat.

The some 20 pots that were facing inside were left on the ledge.

"I am sad to have to take them down because some flowers only bloom under direct sunlight, and they are a headache to take down because of the wiring I used to secure them to the handrails," said Mrs Ong, who moved into the flat with her husband last year.

"But when I see all my flowers every day I am very happy already," she added.

According to the Housing Board's safety guidelines to prevent killer litter accidents, residents should not place objects such as flower pots and clothes hanging racks on ledges of windows or balconies. If convicted of placing objects in a hazardous manner, they are liable to a maximum fine of $2,000.

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Mrs Ong's next-door neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Miss Ng, said she did not have a problem with the flower pots on the corridor ledge.

"Mrs Ong is home almost all the time and tends to her plants every few hours. There would be more of a risk if she were never around," she said.

A saleswoman at the Boon Lay Gems outlet on the ground level directly below Mrs Ong's flat echoed her view, saying the pots were not a worry.

Wanting to be known only as Ms Tey, she said: "I wasn't worried because I didn't think the flower pots were going to fall.

"There is also a shelter over the ground-floor shops that will stop them from hitting anybody even if they should fall."

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