Andrew Loh: Three people were killed and nine injured after a fire broke out early this morning at a workers dormitory in Geylang. - Straits Times, 6 Dec 2014. In 2010, I wrote about the potential of such an incident, following the fire at a restaurant in Joo Chiat. Many foreign workers were seen climbing out of the second storey above the restaurant when the fire broke out, which then led to questions of overcrowding and unsafe accommodation. Now, with the fire at Joo Chiat Place clearly demonstrating the danger of such inadequate housing, the Singapore authorities should explain to Singaporeans how our huge population of foreign workers is to be properly taken care of, before lives are unnecessarily lost. Read the article here: theonlinecitizen/2010/10/joo-chiat-fire-%E2%80%93-an-old-issue-surfaces/ Now, with the lives lost this morning and the danger which continues to be posed to foreign workers, whose head is going to roll? We do not need the MOM minister to express how appalled he is at such incidents. It is a useless and meaningless thing for him to do which serves no purpose. Below is a video I took of a dormitory in Geylang for foreign workers in April this year - 4 years after the Joo Chiat incident. It is not unusual for 10 to 12 workers to be squeezed into a room, or for the kitchen area to see multiple rice cookers plugged into electrical sockets, or for exit ways to be blocked or which are narrow. Have a look and see if this is fit for humans to live in. This is just one of several videos of different dorms in Geylang which I had taken.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 06:05:44 +0000
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