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[h=1]41% OF GEYLANG APARTMENTS ARE ILLEGAL DOMITORIES[/h]
Post date:
15 Apr 2015 - 7:59pm
[Pic Credit: ST]
41 percent of the apartments in Geylang that were recently inspected are unauthorised dormitories. This was revealed by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
There was a fire earlier this month in an apartment in Geylang which killed two foreign workers. Three others were also injured.
Just four months ago, another apartment about 200 metres away also had a fire broke out where four foreign workers were also killed.
But the dormitory has been illegally converted. No permission had been sought for the conversion into a dormitory.
“The residential unit does not have the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s planning permission to be used as workers’ dormitories. We do not allow such (private) residential properties to be used as workers’ dormitories to accommodate more than eight occupants," URA said.
Landlords who convert their residential units into illegal dormitories can be fined up to $200,000.
However, this has not stopped landlords from doing so.
For the fire at Lorong 6 Geylang, 30 foreign workers were said to have been housed Illegally there.
URA revealed that the number of such unauthorised dormitories have been rising. In 2012, URA investigated 1,800 cases. This rose to 2,100 in 2013 and by last year, it has increased to 2,500.
Furthermore, since December last year, SCDF has inspected 164 apartments and shophouses at Geylang. It found that there were 68 unauthorised dormitories. This makes up a whooping 41 percent of the apartments in Geylang which have been Illegally converted.
Perhaps one reason why such unauthorised dormitories have existed is also because of poor enforcement.
SCDF said that it stepped up on its checks after the fires occurred at the end of last year.
But these unauthorised dormitories are dangerous.
Many times, the foreign workers are housed in poor and dirty conditions. And because many illegal partitions have been added, if a fire occurs, it will be difficult to find a way out. This has also explained the deaths.
It is thus necessary for stronger enforcement to be taken. However, it is unclear if the government will actively follow up on it. In addition, many of the landlords who have illegally converted their apartments are able to reap several times more profit as well.
The problem of the illegal dormitories and fires also signify a larger problem that has tended to be swept under the carpet. With the sudden influx of foreign workers over the last few years, there was a lack of residential facilities for the workers. This has led to insufficient purpose-built dormitories and led to a boom of such illegal dormitories as well.
As such, the problem we are now facing might only be the tip of the iceberg, if active enforcement and regulation control is not taken.
Post date:
15 Apr 2015 - 7:59pm
[Pic Credit: ST]
41 percent of the apartments in Geylang that were recently inspected are unauthorised dormitories. This was revealed by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
There was a fire earlier this month in an apartment in Geylang which killed two foreign workers. Three others were also injured.
Just four months ago, another apartment about 200 metres away also had a fire broke out where four foreign workers were also killed.
But the dormitory has been illegally converted. No permission had been sought for the conversion into a dormitory.
“The residential unit does not have the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s planning permission to be used as workers’ dormitories. We do not allow such (private) residential properties to be used as workers’ dormitories to accommodate more than eight occupants," URA said.
Landlords who convert their residential units into illegal dormitories can be fined up to $200,000.
However, this has not stopped landlords from doing so.
For the fire at Lorong 6 Geylang, 30 foreign workers were said to have been housed Illegally there.
URA revealed that the number of such unauthorised dormitories have been rising. In 2012, URA investigated 1,800 cases. This rose to 2,100 in 2013 and by last year, it has increased to 2,500.
Furthermore, since December last year, SCDF has inspected 164 apartments and shophouses at Geylang. It found that there were 68 unauthorised dormitories. This makes up a whooping 41 percent of the apartments in Geylang which have been Illegally converted.
Perhaps one reason why such unauthorised dormitories have existed is also because of poor enforcement.
SCDF said that it stepped up on its checks after the fires occurred at the end of last year.
But these unauthorised dormitories are dangerous.
Many times, the foreign workers are housed in poor and dirty conditions. And because many illegal partitions have been added, if a fire occurs, it will be difficult to find a way out. This has also explained the deaths.
It is thus necessary for stronger enforcement to be taken. However, it is unclear if the government will actively follow up on it. In addition, many of the landlords who have illegally converted their apartments are able to reap several times more profit as well.
The problem of the illegal dormitories and fires also signify a larger problem that has tended to be swept under the carpet. With the sudden influx of foreign workers over the last few years, there was a lack of residential facilities for the workers. This has led to insufficient purpose-built dormitories and led to a boom of such illegal dormitories as well.
As such, the problem we are now facing might only be the tip of the iceberg, if active enforcement and regulation control is not taken.
