Foreigners seen partying noisily on rooftop, throwing bags of rubbish down the block: Neighbouring restaurant employee

Singapore is currently still under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) as of writing with social gathering group sizes capped at two since July 20, but that hasn't stopped some groups of people from flouting the rules.

In a report published on Saturday (Aug 8), a man stated that he'd called the police multiple times after repeatedly witnessing residents of a neighbouring block raucously partying till late despite Covid-19 restrictions.

Not only that, one member of the group was also recently snapped throwing their bags of trash off the side of the building from the rooftop.

A 37-year-old F&B employee told Shin Min Daily News that he often witnessed groups of more than 10 foreigners gathering on the rooftop of a neighbouring shophouse block at Jiak Chuan Road in Chinatown.

Expressing his frustration, the man shared that he believes the party-goers are occupants of units there and hold rooftop parties almost every week. Not only will their loud music be on blast from 10pm onwards, they'll also be dancing till one or two in the morning, said the man.

He shared that within the last two years, they have made at least 20 police reports against the group. But following warnings by the police, their activities would still resume.

The employee added that along with his manager and colleague, they had previously gone up to the rooftop to speak with the group and request that they tone down their volume. However, their reply was that "this is their area and they can do whatever they want", the man alleged.

The man told the Chinese evening daily that on July 18, he had heard a loud noise from the block. He looked up to see a man throwing a black trash bag down the side of the building from the rooftop. A few minutes later, he reappeared again, this time using a string tied to the rubbish bag to lower it down the building. "I immediately snapped a photo using my mobile," said the employee.

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A Shin Min Daily reporter managed to track down the alleged perpetrator, a 30-year-old Caucasian who declined to reveal his name.

While he admitted to lowering a bag of rubbish from the side of the building using a piece of string, he denied that he had thrown a bag off the rooftop. He explained that the reason for doing that was because his unit did not have a rubbish chute and it was extremely inconvenient to dispose of their trash.

He also emphasised that they had not gathered in a large group and all of them were residents in same shophouse block.

The Caucasian man acknowledged that there had been a report lodged against them for noise disturbance months ago but claimed that the noise was caused by a roommate who moved out four months ago.

The man also questioned if "hanging a bag of rubbish is illegal" and alleged that workers at restaurants nearby would gather together noisily after working hours for a drink, "is that not a problem?"

candicecai@asiaone.com