Neighbourhood feels 'unsafe'

SINGAPORE - Some residents in the neighbourhood where the rape occurred two years ago didn't even know about the incident.

But to many of them, the estate in the Outram area feels "too quiet and unsafe".

A female resident in the block where the rape occurred said: "There are fights that break out at night and I've heard the smashing of bottles and people screaming and shouting.

"I feel unsafe hanging around downstairs. I always hurry home as soon as I knock off from work."

Madam S. M. Vasuntha, a cleaner who moved into the neighbourhood three months ago, tells her 18-year-old daughter not to open the door to anyone once she gets home from school.

"You can never take too many precautions regarding safety. I've seen people getting drunk below. Some were even on drugs," said Madam Vasuntha, who lives there with her two daughters and a son-in-law.

Another resident, who wanted to be known as Miss Lim, 47, said there had been cases of theft and people harassing her neighbours and asking to borrow money.

"I don't allow my niece to visit me as often as she likes, but I've got used to living here," she said.


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