He had gone to check on his dad’s tenant and that was when he found out that more than 10 people were living in the three-room flat.

Three double-decker beds were in the guest room, a section of the living room was partitioned off as a makeshift room and a bed was in the store room.

Police were called to the scene as the subletting tenant refused to comply with eviction orders.

The landlord’s son, Mr Lin, told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao in a report yesterday that they had rented out their West Coast flat after moving out.

The self-employed 34-year-old said it was rented out to an S-Pass holder from China on July 15 last year.

The 41-year-old said he worked as a delivery man in a foodstuffs company.

The landlord first suspected something was wrong when friends and neighbours mentioned that more and more people were living in the rented unit.

On March 30, Mr Lin visited the flat to do a spot check and found the door unlocked.

To his horror, he found more than 10 illegal subtenants living in squalid conditions.

“I was dazed and asked them where (the main tenant) was, and one of them said he doesn’t live there,” he said.

He immediately called the main tenant and gave him half a month to evict the subtenants.

However, on April 15 when Mr Lin arrived with a housing agent to inspect the flat and repossess it, the tenant refused to co-operate and relented only when police arrived.

Inspections revealed damages to appliances and furniture.

There were holes in the walls and scratches on the floor tiles, and about 10 live cockroaches were found in the warm fridge.

Mr Lin said his father could not contain his tears when he saw the scene, as they had lived there for more than 30 years.

Mr Lin is trying to locate the tenant to get $5,000 in damages to the flat.

He has made another police report and his father has shelved rental plans for now and will move back into the flat.

According to the Housing Board’s website, those who illegally sublet a house can be fined or have their flats repossessed.

From January 2013 to December 2014, HDB carried out more than 13,000 flat inspections and took action against 24 flat owners for unauthorised subletting. 

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This year, Singapore may not experience haze as severe as last year.

This is because the El Nino weather phenomenon, which last year caused forest and peatland fires in Indonesia to burn harder and for longer, is expected to subside by the time the traditional dry season rolls in about next month.

Five ministers from countries in the region, who yesterday attended a haze meeting in Singapore, also noted that La Nina – a weather phenomenon associated with more rain this region – is also expected to kick in by the third quarter of this year. 

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Cai Yinzhou, Facebook screengrabs, Kompas

While this could bring more rain to the fire-prone landscape in Indonesia during the dry season, meeting chair Masagos Zulkifli – Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources – told reporters at a press conference that there could still be dry spells in between bouts of rain.

“Whether the fires restart within this dry spell, and be put out quickly by the timely coming of rain, is something only God knows.

“But with more rain coming during that period, hopefully, the fires will abate,” he said.

International climate expert Peter Hoeppe, who heads the Geo Risk Research division at German reinsurance firm Munich Re, said after a strong El Nino like the one experienced last year, there is a high probability that La Nina would kick in immediately. 

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Reuters, AFP, The Straits Times, Berita Harian

In comparison, for El Nino years that are less strong, there would be a neutral phase for about a year or two before La Nina conditions set in, Dr Hoeppe noted.

The assumption of a La Nina following right after a strong El Nino is based on statistical analyses of events in the past 45 years.

Dr Hoeppe added: “This could mean relief for Singapore; I expect that the air quality would be better this year than last year as it is likely that there will be more rain in Indonesia, and less fires.”

After the last major El Nino event in 1997, there was a strong La Nina event that followed in July 1998, pointed out Assistant Professor Winston Chow of the National University of Singapore’s geography department.

He said: “The irony was that fires weren’t the concern as the larger-than-average rainfall across Indonesia resulted in floods across the country.

“Likewise, my concern is that areas throughout the region that are currently experiencing drought due to El Nino will be subject to potential flood risk if La Nina occurs.”

Skin and haircare tips to beat the haze

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Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan said yesterday that People’s Action Party (PAP) ministers had not been “challenged intellectually” in Parliament.

And he hoped Bukit Batok residents will change that when they vote on May 7.

Dr Chee noted that both the PAP and SDP have proposed social programmes and pledged to take care of the estate and manage the town council well but his party’s “comparative advantage” was in Parliament. 

Bukit Batok by-election rally May 3

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“Whether it’s retrenchment insurance, whether it’s on CPF, whether it’s in the elderly getting more financial assistance, pushing for a bigger Budget to ensure that our elderly are taken care of, these are things that I think we have a tremendous advantage in terms of us going and making sure that some of these issues are pushed,” he said.

If elected, he would make a “qualitative difference” to Parliament, he added, by making sure that ministers are able to “justify their positions” on issues.

“When you begin to chip away at some of these arguments that they have been getting away with for so long… I think we are then going to start making some headway,” said Dr Chee. 

SDP rally at Bukit Gombak Stadium on May 1

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People’s Action Party candidate Murali Pillai provided more details on his plans to take care of elderly residents in Bukit Batok, should he be elected as the constituency’s MP.

These plans include an additional eldercare centre to provide therapy and daycare services, and an “emergency button” service targeted at old folk who live alone.

“At the moment, about one in nine Bukit Batok residents are aged 65 and above. Five years from now, obviously more seniors will be among us,” he said yesterday.

The eldercare centre will complement existing services at St Luke’s Hospital in Bukit Batok Street 11, which specialises in caring for elderly patients. 

Bukit Batok by-election: Nomination day

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“An additional eldercare centre will help provide more therapy services and daycare services, and we believe this will offer much needed respite to the caregivers – another category of people we need to look at,” Mr Murali said after a morning walkabout to meet residents.

He is looking for suitable sites and wants to have the centre near a bus stop and with ample greenery.

He also hopes to set up a community response network with a proposed “emergency button” service. Elderly folk who live alone will wear the device and press its button when they need help.

Mr Murali noticed a number of elderly who live alone.

“This is not the most ideal, especially if you’re sick,” he said, as he showed the small square device with a button on it to reporters.

With the device, the elderly can alert neighbours, their relatives and community leaders when they need help. 

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AsiaOne, screengrabs

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