Jurong West fire: Affected stallholders to get S$500, help to relocate business

SINGAPORE — Stallholders affected by the fire that gutted a coffee shop and wet market in Jurong West on Tuesday will each be getting S$500 in financial aid, and also given a list of other available stalls to help them to resume their business.

They were told about the financial aid — which will be provided by the Southwest Community Development Council — during a meeting with Mr Ang Wei Neng, a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, yesterday.

Representatives from various agencies such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) also attended the meeting, held at Jurong Green Community Club.

The early-morning fire destroyed the wet market and coffee shop at Block 493 on Jurong West Street 41, affecting about 45 stallholders.

The stallholders can choose from a list of 27 market stalls and 22 food stalls, some located in nearby areas.

They will be given help to relocate quickly and may be able to resume business within a month, said HDB.

Speaking to reporters after the session, Mr Ang said the stallholders were “grateful” that they were able to get the leases from the alternative sites listed without having to go through the bidding process.

He added that it might take a year to rebuild the wet market.

During this period, the HDB will waive the rental for the operator of the market. The Jurong-Clementi Town Council will also waive the service and conservancy charges, on the condition that the savings will be passed on to the affected stallholders.

Signboards will be put up at the affected site to inform residents and regular customers about the stallholders’ temporary new locations.

Several stallholders told TODAY that they were not keen on moving to alternative sites, citing concerns about the distance and the inconvenience it would cause to their regular patrons. Mr Teo Yew Ngee, 67, who ran a flowershop at Blk 493, felt the nearest flower shop available for him at Queenstown was “too far”.

“They’ve given us S$500 ... but it’s not enough for our daily expenses (in the coming months),” said the bachelor in Mandarin, who suffered about S$10,000 in losses.

A 50-year-old stallholder, who wanted to be known only as Mr Cheng, said the stall leases of three to six months were too short.

“If I invest S$10,000 just for a three-month lease, I might make another loss again, so this doesn’t really help us,” said the man, who ran a fishball noodles stall at Blk 494.

Meanwhile, following their checks, the Building and Construction Authority and the HDB have concluded that the roof structure of Blk 493 had partially collapsed due to the damage caused by the fire.

For Blk 494, the fire had affected the coffee shop on the first storey and part of the block’s timber roof structure, although the structural integrity of the block and its upper floors is not affected, the HDB said.

The affected areas have been boarded up for the residents’ safety.