TIRED of working odd jobs in China for little money, Ms Wang Yueli moved to Singapore a month ago in search of a better life and landed a job as a toilet cleaner.

But the 32-year-old is upbeat about cleaning up after others.

'This job isn't very hard, and is really quite all right,' she said in Mandarin. 'The toilets are fairly easy to clean, and I've never encountered any bad customers.'

Lot 1 won in the Shopping Mall category, beating HarbourFront and West Mall shopping centres.

'I'm proud that my efforts have not gone unnoticed, and I will work harder to prove that we deserve this award,' said Ms Wang.

Awards were also given to the cleanest toilets in hawker centres and coffee shops.

The winners in those categories were Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre and Meng Soon Huat Coffeeshop, which won in the Hawker Centre and Coffeeshop categories respectively.

Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of South West District and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources), said that the winners should not rest on their laurels.

'No matter how clean some toilets may be, we have to aspire to be even better,' she said.

Agreeing, Mr Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, said: 'Singapore is known for being a very clean country, and our toilets ought to live up to that reputation.'

The awards, held jointly by the South West Community Development Council and National Environment Agency, also recognise estates that keep their environments free of litter and contribute to the decrease in mosquito breeding.

This is the third year that the South West District has handed out awards for clean loos.

They are part of a broader objective to raise awareness throughout Singapore about the importance of good hygiene, said Dr Khor.

She hoped to extend this competition to the other districts.

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