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08
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04 | 2009
VIP
Magazine
Singapore Playboy, [Rabbithead
Enterprises Pte Ltd] shoots the centerfold for the launch issue of VIP at Pearlbank
Apartments
data
here
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30th
May
2009
Packed
Dorms : Owners rapped
Homes
rented out as dorms at Peoples Park Complex
Double-decker beds are a common sight and
some units accommodate as many as 30 people.
By Ang Yiying
APARTMENTS at People's Park Complex in Chinatown are being partitioned
to create extra rooms holding bed spaces for foreign workers, and the
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is on the case.
The signs of overcrowding are there.
The three lifts serving residents in the iconic green-and-orange
building are jam-packed and frequently break down, and long-time
residents there say the place has become noisier and dirtier.
They also fear that the partitioning within units and packing in of beds
have created fire hazards.
Two URA officers were at the complex on Tuesday, and a URA spokesman
said investigations were on.
Private apartments are for residential use and long-term residential
stay, so leasing them out on daily, weekly or monthly terms is generally
not allowed, URA said.
Also, planning approval is needed for a single residential unit to be
broken up into more units.
URA can take action against unauthorised use of residential space.
The Straits Times reported yesterday that the agency had quashed the
plan of a master tenant in Leonie Hill's Grangeford condominium to run a
student dormitory there.
URA said it is also investigating condo owners elsewhere who are
reportedly renting out rooms as hotel rooms.
URA is not the only enforcement agency: The Singapore Civil Defence
Force said it issued composition fines to nine units at People's Park
Complex this year and 18 units last year for unauthorised conversions of
apartments into workers' quarters, flouting fire-safety regulations.
Those that have been caught, however, could just be the tip of the
iceberg.
When The Straits Times visited the complex, many of the estimated 288
apartments from the eighth to the 31st floors looked like they were
occupied by more people than a typical family unit.
The cues: shoe racks with 15 to 30 pairs of shoes, laundry strung out on
window grilles, on racks in the hallway and in staircase landings;
kitchens that appeared to have been turned into bedrooms; and notices on
doors reminding occupants to keep quiet or to shut the door.
One unlocked regular-size unit of 1,119 sq ft had at least seven rooms.
In its original state, a unit that size would have only three bedrooms
and a
living
room .
Tenants in the complex, observed to be mostly Chinese nationals, said
they were renting bed spaces for between $180 and $300 a month.
Mr Li Guiquan, 28, a chef, said he has been paying $200 a month for his
bed space for more than a year. His bed is one of six in a room with
three double-decker beds. He reckoned 30 people occupied the seven or
eight rooms in the unit.
He said nonchalantly in Mandarin: 'Perhaps it's just the way it is in
Singapore.'
People's Park Complex residents said the conversion into workers'
quarters became apparent two years ago.
Long-time resident Beverly Lee, 49, in a letter to this newspaper's
Forum page published on Monday, said that, with the alert on for the
Influenza A (H1N1) flu, contact tracing would be difficult in such
overcrowded conditions.
The complex's management corporation seems to have its hands tied.
Complex manager Wilson Goh said the management corporation managed only
the common areas and had no jurisdiction over the apartments.
'What we can do is only to persuade owners to take care of the issue,'
he said.
Some residents are resigned.
One resident who has been living there for more than 10 years and who
gave his name only as Benny, 58, said: 'There is no use complaining.'
Mr Jeff Teo, 33, who lives beside a unit which he estimates houses up to
20 foreign workers, quipped: 'Right now, you can call it People's Park
Hostel.'
To inform URA of unapproved use of residential units, call 6223-4811 or
e-mail
ura_dcd@ura.gov.sg.
To inform SCDF of fire hazards, call 1800-2800-000.
Apartments at the
iconic green-and-orange People's
Park Complex have apparently been
converted into workers' quarters
Don't
even think of coming to Pearlbank -
you will be booted out !
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