Tin Pei Ling goes after resident who threw sanitary pad
PUBLISHED ONOctober 22, 2013 2:01 PM
SINGAPORE - A case of high-rise littering raised the ire of the ward's MP - so much so that she decided to hunt the errant resident down.
When the MP for Marine Parade GRC Ms Tin Pei-Ling discovered that a resident had been disposing tampons out of the window, she spared no effort to look for the culprit - even though it meant combing through 7 floors worth of households.
Last week, the Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that residents had complained of 'diapers' being frequently found at the foot of Blk 444 at Tampines Street 42. The final straw came when their MP, Mr Baey Yam Keng recovered a diaper that was still 'warm', prompting him to search over 12 floors to catch the diaper-throwing culprit.
It therefore came as a surprise when Ms Tin Pei-Ling was caught in the same sticky situation - but with tampons this time.
According to an article in Tuesday's Lianhe Wanbao, the Marine Parade MP was informed on Oct 18 afternoon about the high-rise terror litter at Blk 31 along MacPherson Road.
Ms Tin rushed to the scene, accompanied by a Residents Committee manager and constituency manager, and promptly collected the soiled sanitary pads in a bag.
In an interview with the Chinese evening paper, Ms Tin criticised the culprit for being inconsiderate.
"I spoke to residents from the 2nd to the 8th floor, in an attempt to narrow down the possible culprits."
After spending an hour interviewing the residents on the same day (Oct 18), Ms Tin believes that she has some leads.
"We are still in the process of gathering enough evidence, and will continue to pay close attention to the situation," Ms Tin said.
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NEA will be notified if the situation worsens
Ms Tin said that the National Environmental Agency (NEA) will be notified if there is no improvement to the situation.
According to Ms Tin, high-rise littering is actually quite common. Residents have been complaining of diapers, bottles and other items being found at the foot of HDB blocks. She emphasised that no effort will be spared to apprehend these culprits.
"High-rise litter is very dangerous, and we will work with the Town Council to step up enforcement. If the situation doesn't improve, NEA will be notified."
A resident and retiree by the name of Mr Chiang, 70, was surprised when Ms Tin Pei-Ling came knocking on his door that Friday afternoon (Oct 18).
He expressed his admiration when he learnt that Ms Tin actually combed seven floors with the soiled tampon to look for the culprit.
High-rise littering continues despite investigations
Despite the intervention by their MP, the littering continues.
As of Sunday morning, a resident, Mr Zhang, 25 said that he witnessed soiled tampons still being thrown.
Mrs Lo, a home maker, 69 said she has seen the soiled tampons over three times, in July, August, and as recent as last Friday.
"Is really disgusting and inauspicious, I hope the culprit can stop such behaviour ."
grongloh@sph.com.sg