Authorities used alcohol, snares, and other traps to lure rodents out of a market at block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue during night surgery Thursday, Sept. 9.
The six-hour extermination drill, which ended at 3 a.m., was conducted by the National Environment Agency and Ang Mo Kio City Council and will be a relief for stallholders who have suffered from the rat infestation in recent months.
Speaking to reporters from Shin Min Daily News, a spokesman for Ang Mo Kio City Council said efforts are being made to keep the market clean.
Actions include cleaning public areas and removing trash four times a day, as well as washing the floors daily. The market is also closed quarterly for spring cleaning.
The rampant rodent problem has plagued the Ang Mo Kio market for the past three months.
In an interview with the Chinese evening newspaper, a stall owner named Wang, 70, said that rats “patronize” his stall every day. He added that some of them are even “bigger than cats”.
The frustrated stable owner said he had put up cages, but because the rats were too strong, they escaped the traps without any problems – he has only caught two in the past three months.
“The rats usually appear in the evening and scurry around the booth. Sometimes I can see them early in the morning, ”he told the publication. “Aside from ruining fruits and vegetables, they chewed on the boxes.”
Another stallholder named Gao told reporters that she saw traces of rat droppings in the area.
“To avoid this problem, we need to make sure that our booth is clean and that all of our goods are neatly placed,” she said.
In April the media reported about a rat infestation at a vegetable stall in Bukit Panjang. Seven to eight rats scurried over the vegetables, the report says.
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