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singapore
The rat-catching initiative has been going on for the past three years at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre.
PHOTO: Google Maps
PUBLISHED ON November 25, 2025 3:27 PM BY Ching Shi Jie
A hawker centre which made headlines for handing out cash rewards to their stallholders for catching rats has seen improvement in the problem.
The initiative has been going on at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre over the past three years.
Shin Min Daily News reported last November that stall holders were given a maximum of $50 for each large rat caught.
It seems that the cash reward is paying dividends, CNA reported on Tuesday (Nov 25).
More than 10 rats were seen at the hawker centre per day before the Covid-19 pandemic. This month, only a single rodent has been caught so far.
“Over the years, there has been a lot of improvement,” said the market’s chairman Henroy Tan.
"Even this month, according to the town council’s report to the National Environment Agency (NEA), it’s only one for Block 448. So the rat cases went down tremendously."
Shin Min had earlier reported that members of the public can also receive cash rewards by joining the rat-catching efforts.
In July this year, 15 rats were caught, with cash prizes totaling $305. In August, it was 27 rats, amounting to $520.
In October, 21 rats were reportedly caught, which is $240 given out as reward.
Patrick Sze, the market’s former chairman, told CNA that he hopes that the programme will not stop.
"Once we stop, these rats — they give birth. I think one time they give birth to 10 babies. Just imagine if we stop this programme, I think they will come back very fast."
In August, NEA said that it recorded an average of 5,400 rat burrows per cycle in the first half of 2025 in the whole of Singapore, which is almost double the 2,800 burrows detected in the same period last year.
NEA also carried out 480 enforcement action on premise owners for rat-related lapses in the first half of this year — an increase from the 380 enforcement actions taken in the same period last year.
CNA reported that the stallholders at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre used to dispose of the trapped rats themselves.
But the Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council, which runs the hawker centre, is now engaging a licensed pest controller to provide this service for free.
It used to cost the stallholders $80 to engage a pest controller to dispose of the rats.
According to NEA guidelines, premise owners or managers should arrange for vector control operators to regularly monitor rat traps for live captures and dispose any rodent carcasses to “prevent any public health risks”.
singapore
From 10 rats seen in a day to 1 a month: Clementi hawker centre sees improvement in rodent problem
The rat-catching initiative has been going on for the past three years at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre.
PHOTO: Google Maps
PUBLISHED ON November 25, 2025 3:27 PM BY Ching Shi Jie
A hawker centre which made headlines for handing out cash rewards to their stallholders for catching rats has seen improvement in the problem.
The initiative has been going on at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre over the past three years.
Shin Min Daily News reported last November that stall holders were given a maximum of $50 for each large rat caught.
It seems that the cash reward is paying dividends, CNA reported on Tuesday (Nov 25).
More than 10 rats were seen at the hawker centre per day before the Covid-19 pandemic. This month, only a single rodent has been caught so far.
“Over the years, there has been a lot of improvement,” said the market’s chairman Henroy Tan.
"Even this month, according to the town council’s report to the National Environment Agency (NEA), it’s only one for Block 448. So the rat cases went down tremendously."
Shin Min had earlier reported that members of the public can also receive cash rewards by joining the rat-catching efforts.
In July this year, 15 rats were caught, with cash prizes totaling $305. In August, it was 27 rats, amounting to $520.
In October, 21 rats were reportedly caught, which is $240 given out as reward.
Patrick Sze, the market’s former chairman, told CNA that he hopes that the programme will not stop.
"Once we stop, these rats — they give birth. I think one time they give birth to 10 babies. Just imagine if we stop this programme, I think they will come back very fast."
In August, NEA said that it recorded an average of 5,400 rat burrows per cycle in the first half of 2025 in the whole of Singapore, which is almost double the 2,800 burrows detected in the same period last year.
NEA also carried out 480 enforcement action on premise owners for rat-related lapses in the first half of this year — an increase from the 380 enforcement actions taken in the same period last year.
CNA reported that the stallholders at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre used to dispose of the trapped rats themselves.
But the Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council, which runs the hawker centre, is now engaging a licensed pest controller to provide this service for free.
It used to cost the stallholders $80 to engage a pest controller to dispose of the rats.
According to NEA guidelines, premise owners or managers should arrange for vector control operators to regularly monitor rat traps for live captures and dispose any rodent carcasses to “prevent any public health risks”.
