Job fair, mentors for stallholders affected by Jurong West market fire

Stallholders affected by the market blaze at Jurong West Street 41 will receive help in finding jobs and a mentor to understand their needs.

Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng said yesterday that he has arranged a job fair at Jurong Green Community Club on Oct 27 which will focus on the food and beverage sectors and offer temporary and permanent kitchen jobs.

He has also started a mentorship scheme in which a grassroots leader will be attached to four or five stall holders to hear their needs and see how they can help.

He added that "a fraction" of stallholders have expressed interest in taking up another stall elsewhere and estimated that the market at Block 493 will take at least a year to be rebuilt.

In a statement, the Housing Board said that to make the site at Block 493 safe for entry, it has installed supports to prop up the structure.

Work to clear the debris and carry out disinfection and anti-mosquito treatment has also been carried out.

The site is still unsafe for the public. When the Straits Times visited, it was a tangled mess of twisted and charred metal.

The metal roof had caved in and the main columns supporting it were slanted and cracked.

Stallholders and their staff were allowed to enter the site briefly under supervision yesterday afternoon.

A 41-year-old Singaporean man was charged in court on Saturday with causing the fire that destroyed two coffee shops and a wet market early on Tuesday last week.

jkoh@sph.com.sg

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