SINGAPORE: Singapore Post (SingPost) is investigating images circulating online of unopened letters, including some from government agencies, that an Ang Mo Kio resident said she found in a rubbish bin.
The resident, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Loh, told Channel NewsAsia that she discovered around 30 to 40 unopened letters – some sent by the Land Transport Authority and the Community Health Assist Scheme – in a bin at Block 179 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 on Monday night (Jan 28).
She uploaded photos of the letters she found on Facebook the same night. Her post has since been shared more than 6,000 times.
The resident says she found around 30 to 40 letters inside the rubbish bin. (Photo: Facebook/Alyce Kathlyn)
In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, the national postal agency said it dispatched a team on Monday night to search for the letters.
“SingPost is aware that images of letters allegedly discarded in a bin are circulating online. Based on the addresses on the letters, a team was immediately dispatched to comb the area overnight,” it said in a statement that was also posted on its Facebook page.
The team located the rubbish bin and proceeded to “search every bin within the vicinity”, but did not find the letters, it said.
“Letter boxes were also opened to check if these letters had been delivered to affected recipients,” SingPost added.
Mrs Loh, who is known as Alyce Kathlyn on Facebook, said she removed the letters – which were mostly unopened – from the rubbish bin and placed them at the “nearest letterbox, hoping neighbours could find their lost mail”.
READ: SingPost fires postman who threw away mail
She found the letters in the bin while searching for her “missing parcel”, Mrs Loh added.
Some of the letters that the resident says she found in the rubbish bin. (Photo: Facebook/Alyce Kathlyn)
SingPost said that it was conducting interviews with the postman on duty and is trying to locate the letters so it could have them delivered to the intended recipients.
“Please bear with us as we continue to investigate this and will provide an update as soon as possible,” it added.
SingPost also reached out to Mrs Loh via the comment section of her post and apologised for the “unpleasant experience”. It also assured her that it would “get to the bottom of this”.
READ: SingPost delivers apology for recent ‘service failures
Mrs Loh said she has seen letters “dumped twice within six months” at the same block.
Her neighbour, who also lives at Block 179, told Channel NewsAsia that he reported to SingPost last year about mail going missing. The civil servant, who asked to remain anonymous, said he has lived at the same block for nearly 30 years and only experienced issues with mail in the last year.
In February 2018, a SingPost postman was fired after he was found to have thrown away returned letters and direct mail at a condominium.
After a member of the public confronted the postman, he admitted to throwing the mail away and complained that he was tired and had been treated unfairly.
