Bedok Central

[SoS 0]

hi yokoyoko, any specific person whom I can email to?

it's been sometimes since i read back on the forum... do you think they will still fix up the new dual flush for us?

Hello, i got mine changed. you can call ectc. complain to them about the flushing...

[blurer23 0]

hi guys, lazy to search the thread history

Is there any bicycle shop nearby linear green?

Thanks and Gong Xi Gong Xi.!

[elstrial 0]

Hello, i got mine changed. you can call ectc. complain to them about the flushing...

Thanks SoS!

Will give them a call after CNY

[yokoyoko 0]

Thanks for yr concern.. he is working perfectly fine .. lolz..

If you don't change problem wont be solved.

If you change, got 50-50 chances the problem can be solved.

Opposite Linear Green.. think there is one within the 2 rows of shops...

Alternatively, u can feedback to Bedok HDB Branch...

HUat ah!

Edited February 10, 2010 by yokoyoko

[big orange 0]

thanks yokoyoko.

by the way guys, anyone have spare white silicon sealant to spare? need for touching up my cupboard.

[big orange 0]

It the 2nd CNY for us in LG.

Wishing everybody good health and good luck in the new year!

[herbman76 0]

It the 2nd CNY for us in LG.

Wishing everybody good health and good luck in the new year!

Happy New Year!!!

[DSA 0]

So how do Linear Greeners find the two nearby supermarts that operate 24 hrs?

More going on midnight grocery runs

24-hour stores sprouting up in the last few years to meet demand

By Jessica Lim

Feb 18, 2010

Shoppers at a 24-hour Shop N Save supermarket in Toa Payoh Central around midnight recently.

PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA

SINGAPOREANS are staying out later and later, for work and play, and are getting their grocery shopping done in the wee hours as a result.

Now, supermarkets are rushing to cater to this trend. Once a curiosity here, 24-hour grocery stores are now opening at a steady clip.

Singapore's largest supermarket chain, FairPrice, now has 19 24-hour outlets. In 2008, it had just one, in Jurong.

Shop N Save, which first dipped its toes into the round-the-clock pond in mid-2005, now has 25 such outlets.

Cold Storage has three.

It is not just the big boys who are in the game. The iEcon chain of more than 100 minimarts - which sell groceries like rice, frozen meat and fresh vegetables - now has 10 such outlets. It had none two years ago, said PSC Corporation, which runs the franchise.

AJ Supermart opened its first 24-hour outlet in 2008 and has 15 such outlets now.

Heartland chain MCP Supermarket has seven 24/7 outlets now, with one more on the way, up from five three years ago.

These 24-hour outlets are different from the convenience stores of old.

There is good reason, too: Their customers, mostly professionals stuck in the office till late or shift workers, are not stopping by to grab just a bag of crisps or an emergency supply of beer for a night in front of the television.

Instead, many are buying chilled meat, vegetables and other perishables, either for cooking the next day or for late night dinners.

MCP owner Raymond Tan, 47, said the change has occurred in just a few short years. He considered going 24/7 in 2005, but decided against it because 'by 9pm, there were no customers already'.

'But in 2007, things began changing,' he said. 'The stores would be very crowded at 10pm, and it was hard to close because we had to chase customers away.'

Business has been so good despite higher overheads - Mr Tan said manpower and utility costs have risen 20 per cent since he started the 24-hour stores - that MCP will open another all-night outlet in Jurong in May.

He said his 24-hour stores have played a large part in doubling the chain's revenue. Last year, MCP's turnover hit $32 million, compared to $16 million in 2007.

The Republic's late working culture is a key reason for the increase in the number of such shops.

Singaporeans continue to lead the pack when it comes to the number of hours they put in at work: 46.2 hours a week as of last September, according to statistics from the Manpower Ministry. This compares to under 40 hours a week for a Taiwanese worker, for instance.

Though the figure has not changed that much in the past 10 years, business school lecturers and economists say there may be more to this than meets the eye.

'Official figures track people who clock in and clock out each day. Many of us here don't, and we work long overtime hours. This is especially so now, when everyone is aiming to prove his worth in the wake of a downturn,' said senior lecturer Sarah Lim, from Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business.

FairPrice managing director Seah Kian Peng agreed. 'As Singapore's socio-economic landscape evolves, we are seeing a trend of more people staying out late for both work and play. Working hours are less fixed, so people need more alternative timings when it comes to grocery shopping,' said Mr Seah, who is an MP for Marine Parade GRC.

Avoiding crowds is another reason more people are shopping in the wee hours, customers said.

Air stewardess Cai Xiumei, 27, hits the 24-hour Cold Storage outlet in Katong Mall three times a week because of her irregular working hours. She said: 'Many of my friends in regular jobs work till 9pm and can't make it to a supermarket before it closes.'

Despite the booming business, stores say opening all night is not without its drawbacks. Hiring people to work the night shift is one major hurdle, say supermarkets. To get around this, the chains try everything from giving a monthly allowance to more flexible rostering.

Another problem is that not all the shoppers who walk in at odd hours are welcome. Late-night partygoers seeking one last hit of alcohol are especially problematic. 'Some people buy alcohol, then drink entire bottles at the carpark outside my stores and make a lot of noise,' said MCP's Mr Tan, adding that drunk customers have tried to force cashiers to sell them more booze.

To keep such incidents to a minimum, some stores do not apply for licences that allow them to sell alcohol past midnight.

For Madam Kok Mei Yue, 48, the choice is easy. Said the owner of a 24-hour iEcon minimart in Bedok: 'We don't want to sell to customers after midnight anyway, they just get drunk and create trouble.'

[big orange 0]

WARNING: There are a lot of mosquitoes in my service yard today. Roughly 30-40 males & females. Please be careful!

I have done

1. I've remove all clothes on service yard pole system.

2. Close the service yard window to prevent more mosquitoes from coming in.

3. Spray and eliminate all mosquitoes. (3 times)

4. Dead bodies all over my service yard.

I have confirmed

1. There are no mosquitoes in my service yard yesterday

2. Yesterday morning done my laundry and open my (built) window at service yard for the sunshine to come in.

3. I’ve always close the bi-floor door of service yard to kitchen.

4. I've checked the service yard on stagnant water - There is no other thing except (lonely) washing machine.

5. Washing machine checked for stagnant water. No sight of water.

6. Checked outside the service yard (common area) - no stagnant water also.

7. Checked in kitchen, no sight of mosquitoes & stagnant water - we dun cook often at all.

8. We dun have plants.

I've noticed

1. My neighbors service yard do not have built window.

2. They have a lot of plants.

I will like to remind all LGian to be careful on your service yard area and if possible, please be considerate and check/prevent/maintain your service yard regularly (especially if you have plants in service yard).

I've take care of myself and my area to prevent misfortune on any individual that could or might be affected due to my negligence. I hope you guys can take care of yourselves and neighbors!

Thank you.

[herbman76 0]

The 24hrs supermarket does provides the convience for Us. Anytime, we can just go there to get what we need. And thankful we got 2 supermarkets that are 24hrs!

[herbman76 0]

hmmm maybe a house visit would be useful? since this is also the festive season. or check if they also have the same problem. It may not be from your neighbour's side?

[big orange 0]

Not this meaning lah. PEACE!

[hihihi 0]

Big Olange.. Seems like either our estate is very prone to mosquitoes breeding or the NEA officier is smoking me very well. I had to frequently do this like once every 1-2mths. Everytime I get more than 3mosquitoes a nite, next day fire the SMS to NEA. Without fail, the officer will everytime tell me the same thing that they found a mosquito breeding site. Don't know how true is this, but each time really the mosquitoes are gone after their feedback.

My historical record, >14mosquitoes in 1 single night. Some of the bodies are here:

Can complain via their website or SMS.

[DSA 0]

Dear Linear Green Residents, this is an broadcast message of great importance to the well-being, health & safety of all Linear Greeners.

There is confirmed & verified empirical evidence gathered on the ground that Linear Green is infested with mosquitoes.

I bitter mouth grandma heart urge each & every Linear Greener to exercise utmost daily caution and protect themselves & their loved ones, esp babies, toddlers & kids from such wretched insects.

Please spare just 10 mins to mount a S&E effort within & outside your LG unit: Search & empty all traces of stagnant water that are bigger than a 10 cent coin.

A good [for the expecting female mosquito but bad for humans] example is the saucer that serves as a base for potted plants, which is an excellent catchment container for stagnant water which is the 2nd love of mosquitoes whose 1st love is human blood which can be easily infected by malaria, dengue & any other blood-based infection and diseases.

So look out for potted plants on & below the floor you reside, from the end to which your unit is connected to the other end, including the rubbish chute area.

Check for any traces of water larger than a 10 cent coin. Empty the tray or container.

Or better!

Inform the owner of the potted plants that mosquitoes are trespassing onto their potted plants and they're illegal squatters who ain't paying any rent to them - well, we know some Singaporeans hate losing out on money-making opportunities so this reason should work on them.

PS: Title to all areas outside your LG unit resides with HDB & and ECTC is the official agent to perform management of such non-lessee areas.

As such, HDB can instruct ECTC to remove any object that is occupying these non-lessee areas.

Dengue, malaria & other diseases transmitted by female mosquitoes pose grave fatal danger to humans for if any of these female mosquitoes were to feed on someone who is not infected by malaria and/or dengue fever virus but merely a carrier, the female mosquito can transmit the virus to the next person she feasts upon.

QuickView of Info sheet on Aedes mosquitoes & the various diseases which can be transmitted by mosquitoes. PDF version.

For those Linear Greeners who have experienced mosquitoes stings in their own residence, it'd be good to state your block & floor so that the info can be useful to NEA who will deploy mozzies hunters who can descend upon the block & attempt to trace down these insects which produces extremely irritating buzzing noises & other life-threatening diseases.

[DSA 0]

Illegal subletting: HDB to repossess man's flats

By Yeo Shang Long

Additional reporting by Joan Chew

13 March, 2010

IN A clear warning to those who sublet their flats illegally, the Housing Board (HDB) has moved to take back three apartments linked to a real estate agent who owns five private properties.

One flat to be repossessed belongs to the real estate agent, Mr Poh Boon Kay, 61, and his wife, Madam Khoo Kim Cheng, 52, who had illegally sublet their four-room flat in Bukit Batok.

The other two flats in Telok Blangah and Bukit Batok are owned by the couple's daughter and Madam Khoo's 91-year-old aunt respectively. Both flats were also illegally rented out.

He acted as agent for the elderly woman and collected rent on her behalf.

The HDB said it is taking legal action to take back the units.

It is the most serious case of illegal subletting in the last two years. Only three other flats have been compulsorily acquired in that time.

In November last year, the HDB checked and found that Mr Poh had sublet his flat to three Myanmar couples without HDB approval.

The Pohs, who were not living there at that time, had also breached the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of three years.

This rule states that buyers who purchase resale flats without a housing grant from the Central Provident Fund Board have to live in the flat for three years before they can rent out the whole unit.

The HDB then told Mr Poh this was unauthorised, and that they were intending to repossess his flat. On Dec 23, the HDB pasted a notice of intention to compulsorily acquire his flat.

The HDB told The Straits Times yesterday that Mr Poh will continue to hold the title deeds until investigations are complete.

It will then decide whether to take back the title deeds officially and compensate him to the amount of $125,000.

Mr Poh, who claims he paid $155,000 for the house, can lodge an appeal against the notice. When asked, he said he was intending to appeal.

Mr Poh, an ordinary member of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA), pleaded ignorance of the three-year MOP; he said he had been told by the HDB's counter staff that he could sublet the flat after a year. He could not name the HDB employee.

But the HDB said that because of Mr Poh's links to the other illegal subletting cases, his claims of ignorance could not be substantiated.

'There is clear evidence that Mr Poh, a housing agent by profession, has been intentionally abusing HDB flats for monetary gains,' said the HDB spokesman.

Mr Poh said he had not seen the acquisition coming. He added: 'I can't believe a notice can be served within a month of the HDB giving a warning letter.'

He said it was more usual for the HDB to send a second warning, or even fine an errant owner first. The Housing and Development Act says, however, that the HDB can compulsorily acquire a flat once it ascertains that the owner is illegally subletting it.

'HDB takes a stern view of unauthorised subletting, and will not hesitate to take strong action against those who flout the rules,' it said.

The Board added that it will bring Mr Poh's case to the attention of the IEA. Mr Poh, who claims his daughter is stuck in the United States with marital problems, declined to discuss the cases involving her and his wife's aunt.

He said he did not know for sure when they bought their flats.

The HDB has taken action against 56 such owners in the last two years, dishing out punishments ranging from fines of $1,000 to $21,000, to repossessing the flats involved.

HDB added that there was no discernible upward trend. Flat owners who wish to rent out their flats must obtain approval from the Board and fulfil the MOP. The current MOP for subletting flats is five years for flats bought directly from the HDB or resale flats purchased with a CPF Housing Grant, and three years for resale flats bought without the CPF grant. About 682,000 flats are eligible for subletting, but only 3 per cent of these flats are sublet.

Note: HDB flat dwellers do not own their HDB units; they merely hold the physical possession of their HDB flats and a less than 99 years old lease. One may argue that a HDB flat buyer obtains equitable title to his flat. What matter is HDB holds the legal title to HDB flats esp new ones as only old HDB flats are owned by HDB dwellers by strata titles which are only applied to old HDB flats at the time of their sale from HDB donkey years ago.

Do not lose your Linear Green unit over illegal subletting. There are eyes & ears abound.

Edited March 28, 2010 by DSA