A 56-year-old man who works as a hawker used roasted duck meat as bait to catch some 50 rats in his traps that he set up at the garbage collection area at a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio.

This was after he had enough of the rats found near the accumulation of cardboard boxes and waste left behind at the garbage collection area near Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, where a market and hawker centre is located.

The garbage accumulation phenomenon was witnessed by the man over the past year, he told Shin Min Daily News.

He added that he would see rats in the vicinity where rubbish accumulates, as he often walks from his home nearby to the stalls.

The man said: "The cardboard boxes are believed to have been discarded by nearby businesses. For the sake of convenience, the discarded material is placed directly outside the rubbish dump as it is closed."

"Every time in the middle of the night, cardboard boxes pile up, get cleared, only to accumulate again after nightfall."

Got duck meat from his friend

He revealed that he started to get roasted duck meat from a friend of his, who operated a food stall, in order to help catch the rats.

The roasted duck meat was put in the cage, and the man would look around for rat holes to place his traps.

The man added: "I set up 'rat cages', and in just one month, I successfully caught at least 50 rats. Afterwards, the situation with the rats improved a bit, and the number was obviously reduced."

Trash caught fire

But the rat problem was just one concern.

The man further claimed that he was hurt once while trying to put out a flame after the trash caught fire.

"My friend and I both had our hands injured from smashing the glass (to retrieve the fire extinguisher), but fortunately, the accident was not serious," he said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force told Shin Min it received a report that one person was slightly injured but refused to be sent to the hospital for treatment.

Town council responds

In response to Mothership's queries, Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) said it was made aware of the items thrown outside the bin centre at 4am on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.

"Our cleaners were deployed to the location, and the items were cleared around 8am on the same morning," AMKTC said.

The town council added that its cleaners cleaned up the bin centres before the incident occurred on Oct. 19, the night of the fire.

"The daily operational hours for our cleaners typically end by 9pm. Any items thrown outside these operational hours will be cleared the following morning," AMKTC added.

"Investigations are ongoing to identify the person or persons responsible for this improper disposal."

AMKTC also said it may consider deploying additional CCTV cameras if such situations persist.

Under the town council by-laws, dumping debris, trash and unwanted materials in public spaces is an offence, and offenders may be subjected to a fine not exceeding S$2,000.

Regarding the rodent issue, in addition to the daily cleaning efforts, AMKTC said it conducts weekly inspections for rodent burrows in the vicinity of Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

In the last inspection on Oct. 19, 2023, no rodent burrows were found.

AMKTC noted that the market area might be a potential food source for the rodents: "To address this concern, we regularly schedule rodent night culling sessions. In August this year, our culling efforts led to the capture of two rodents. The next scheduled culling will be on Oct. 27, 2023."

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News