Yew Tee resident claims holes made in temporary female bathrooms at HDB HIP site for peeping at occupants

Holes were apparently discovered in the walls of the temporary female bathrooms at Block 563 Choa Chu Kang Street 52.

As the block of flats in Yew Tee was part of the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) Home Improvement Programme (HIP), temporary communal shower and toilet cubicles have been set up on the block's ground floor for residents to use.

The discovery of the alleged holes was shared on Facebook on Jul. 10 by a user, Ezan, who claimed that a family member saw a hole in the cubicle.

In his post, Ezan also claimed that the holes had been deliberately made to peep into the bathroom.

The post was shared in the Friends of Yew Tee Facebook group.

Speaking to Mothership, Ezan clarified that his tenant, a 33-year-old engineer who requested to be identified only as Ms S, was the one that had made the discovery.

However, both his mum and helper were also at the scene at the time of the incident.

According to Ms S, the alleged incident happened on Jul. 8 at around 9pm.

The holes

Photos shared by Ezan appeared to show multiple small holes in one of the bathroom cubicles.

These included what appeared to be holes beside the shower and above the toilet bowl.

Ms S told Mothership that she eventually found around 10 holes across three temporary female toilets.

After examining the area, Ezan added that he was surprised by the "vast difference" between the temporary female and male toilets.

While the female toilets allegedly had around 10 holes, he said the male toilets were hole-free and "in perfect condition".

Alleged peeping incident

Speaking to Mothership, Ms S shared that she was about to take a shower in a temporary female bathroom at around 9pm on Jul. 8.

Ezan's mother and helper had also gone downstairs to take a shower, as his unit was undergoing renovation as part of the HIP.

As Ms S put down her belongings in preparation for a shower, she noticed a hole in the wall panel.

"I saw something 'blink, blink'... like something was moving," she said.

Ms S said she could make out something black through the hole.

At first, she tried to rationalise it, thinking that perhaps a worker had forgotten to seal or cover the hole.

However, she could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

As she was leaving the temporary toilet, she heard a noise coming from the area behind the wall panel.

She later discovered that a locked storage area was located behind the temporary female toilets.

Access to the area required a PIN code.

Ms S believed that the noise had come from someone locking the storage area.

She then went to check the locked storage area outside the toilet, but did not see anyone inside when she looked through a small gap.

When she returned to the toilet, Ms S noticed that the hole had apparently turned white for some reason.

Ms S alleged that the holes seemed to purposely target women's private areas.

"One at the bottom part, one at the top part," she said.

Ms S also said one of the holes was positioned at eye level, which she believed would allow someone standing behind the wall to look directly into the toilet cubicle.

Demanded to see storage area

Ezan shared that he was home at the time of the incident, but that his helper went up to inform him of what happened.

He then joined Ms S at the ground floor.

Ms S contacted the site management, who eventually opened the locked storage area after she "made noise".

After entering the storage area, Ms S began inspecting the wall panels separating it from the temporary female toilets.

"Oh my god, my blood started [to] boil," Ms S told Mothership.

She said she found what appeared to be white masking tape covering the holes.

It was also then that she realised the wall panels did not have just one hole, but around 10 or more across three toilet cubicles.

Who could it be?

Ms S questioned who last accessed the storage area and also had access to the lock.

Ezan and Ms S emphasised that they did not believe the alleged culprit was one of the foreign workers carrying out works in the area.

They said this in response to comments online that were putting the blame on foreign workers.

According to Ezan and Ms S, the workers typically left the site between 6pm to 7pm to return to their dormitories.

The incident had happened later at night, and they suspected it was someone who had access to the lock.

At the time, there was no CCTV camera monitoring the enclosed area, making it impossible to fully verify whether anyone had been there.

Action taken: HDB

An HDB spokesperson told Mothership that they are aware of the feedback regarding alleged holes in the wall of a temporary toilet cubicle at Block 563 Choa Chu Kang Street 52.

They added that upon receiving the feedback on the night of Jul. 8, a HIP contractor carried out a joint inspection of the toilet cubicle.

During the inspection, the alleged holes were found to have already been patched with silicone sealant.

The HDB spokesperson explained that such holes may be left behind when fittings such as clothes hangers are replaced:

Fittings such as clothes hangers, shower heads and grab bars are installed in all temporary toilets in HIP precincts. These fittings are replaced when they are damaged, and contractors are required to seal up any holes in the wall which resulted from these replacement works immediately. Daily checks are conducted on all toilets.

In this particular case, the contractor’s inspection on Jul. 8 afternoon – prior to the resident’s feedback in the evening – confirmed that all holes had been sealed. In addition, the rear of the temporary toilets is enclosed and kept locked at all times, preventing public access to the area.

The spokesperson added that an aluminium plate had been installed behind the toilet's wall panel to minimise the risk of tampering, and that a CCTV camera had also been installed to monitor access to the enclosed area behind the temporary toilets.