The foreigners hawk food illegally at the temporary Geylang Serai market nearby.

In 2005, The New Paper reported about their activities in the vicinity, but they seemed to have disappeared after the Geylang Serai market was demolished.

Now, they have reappeared at the Joo Chiat Road four-storey carpark behind Joo Chiat complex.

Their numbers are especially large on weekends and during the festive seasons, residents said.

Said Madam Ng Ling Lin, a resident of Block 4, Joo Chiat Road: 'You can find them sleeping at staircases, lift-landing areas and even on the playground near the carpark.

'This neighbourhood has become a mini-hotel for foreigners who do business at the (temporary) Geylang Serai Market.'

Blocks 3 and 4 are above the carpark.

Madam Ng isn't the only one upset about it.

Another resident, who gave his name as Mr Dileep, said that non-residents should only be given limited access to the estate.

Mr Dileep, who has been living in Blk 4 for 20 years, said: 'If there is a special card to access doors or gantries, non-residents would not be able to access certain floors or staircases in the carpark.

'We use the staircases and lift areas each day and it's too much to walk pass the stench they leave behind, even when there are cleaners to clean up afterwards.'

The New Paper visited the carpark three times last week and saw wet clothes hanging on thin wires on every floor of the carpark.

About 22 people, some of them locals, were sleeping on thin pieces of cardboard near boxes of goods stacked against a wall.

One man had barricaded his sleeping area with boards, just a metre from a parked car.

To avoid the glare of the fluorescent lights, some surrounded themselves with boxes, while others slept with towels on their faces.

Anybody using the stairs would have to tip-toe to avoid the wet spots.

We approached five foreigners, but only one, who gave his name as Dino, agreed to speak to us.

Said Dino, 32, who is from Bintan: 'It's not that we're here to create trouble. But we have no choice because hotels cost a lot of money. We're here only for a few days.'

Regarding residents' complaints that they mess up the carpark, he said: 'If the public toilet remains open throughout the night, surely we would use it.'

The public toilet, near the carpark, closes at 10pm.

Like Dino, the visitors come from various parts of the Riau archipelago on social visit passes.

They are not allowed to work here.

Said Dino: 'We do not sleep and work in peace because any time the authorities can come after us.

'But it's worth it because what I earn in a day here is equivalent to what I make in two weeks in Bintan.

'For some of us, it's the only way to 'cari makan' (earn a living in Malay).'

In the late afternoons, they collect boxes of fermented soya beans and dried fish from a delivery lorry behind the carpark.

They re-pack and sell the items.

But their activities are not limited to the carpark.

MOSQUE, TOO

At a nearby mosque, one regular mosque-goer, Madam Sadiah Saidi, said the visitors use the toilets to wash their clothes.

Madam Sadiah said: 'A mosque should not be treated like a washroom. I see some of them pretending to get ready to pray, but in reality, they're using the facilities for their personal activities.'

Last year, 20 offenders, including 13foreigners, were booked for illegal hawking in the vicinity of the temporary Geylang Serai market, said a spokesman from the National Environment Agency (NEA).

This year, three foreigners have been booked so far, said NEA.

This article was first published in The New Paper on June 21, 2008.