Rat activity in 14 Marina Square shops: NEA

SINGAPORE — More than one Marina Square tenant has grappled with rats scurrying around their premises, despite attempts to clear them out.

Rodent activity has been detected in the false ceilings of 14 food and beverage establishments at the shopping mall and at one of its bin centres, said the National Environment Agency (NEA). The agency conducted inspections after a customer found a rat in a tray of vegetables at Hotpot Culture, a restaurant at the shopping centre, earlier this month.

The inspections followed an audit done in October last year, when all 77 licensed F&B establishments at the mall were checked following feedback from a tenant about a rat sighting in his shop. After the inspections, which were done at night when rodents are most active, enforcement action was taken against 16 food shops. Evidence of rodent activity was found at 12 shops while food scraps were found on the floor of the other four. The agency did not receive further feedback on rodents at the mall until the Hotpot Culture incident.

A Marina Square spokesperson said the mall is subject to regular checks by the authorities and was not facing a major pest issue. “We have a comprehensive pest-control management programme and an appointed pest-control services company to carry out regular inspections, treatments and control of pests for the mall.”

Tenants TODAY spoke to, however, begged to differ. Showing photographs to TODAY of rats caught on the premises, the tenants, all of whom declined to be named, said the problem persists and remains serious despite the efforts of pest controllers. These concerns, they said, have been brought to the attention of the mall management.

Managers of a restaurant on the second floor said they first reported the problem to the management last June. The restaurant was catching three rats a week, they said. The rats enter the premises by biting through the ceiling boards, which have been replaced more than once. The restaurant also has had to discard, among other things, boxes containing unused ingredients that were damaged by the rats, chalking up about S$1,000 in food wastage a month. Once, a rat dropped from the ceiling into the food preparation area just as the restaurant was about to begin its lunch service.

The mall’s appointed pest controller visits the restaurant twice a month, but the restaurant has also engaged its own pest control company, which comes in up to six times a month. The restaurant is considering suspending operations.

“If the matter gets worse ... we are just putting ourselves at very high risk (of tarnishing our reputation),” said one of the managers, 30.

A manager of a restaurant on the same floor now conducts pest control checks twice a week. “(The chefs) are very concerned about the safety of the food. We cannot take the risk. Otherwise, we are going to close the shop,” said the manager, 28.

Marina Square’s spokesperson said its pest-control programme covers the common areas, while tenants are responsible for pest management within their premises. “In light of the recent incident at Hotpot Culture, we have further stepped up efforts to address any concerns that the public may have,” the spokesperson said, adding that the mall will continue working with tenants on joint pest-control initiatives.

An NEA spokesperson said the Marina Square management has “intensified its pest-control treatment for the building and has requested its tenants to submit their pest-control reports for monitoring”.

The false ceilings have also been sealed to prevent rodents from entering the premises, added the spokesperson. The agency has also been auditing other shopping malls in Singapore, with 85 out of the more than 200 malls inspected so far.

Pest control companies TODAY spoke to said there is little to do beyond upholding stringent hygiene standards and implementing robust control measures.

Weekly pest-control checks are needed to keep the rats at bay, said Star Pest Control general manager Bernard Chan. He added that malls have multiple conduits for rats to move around, such as utilities connections like gas and water pipes.

Origin Exterminators technical director Carl Baptista said the catching of female rats is key, as this would curtail the reproductive cycle.

Ms Lim Min Hui, operations director for Rentokil Initial Singapore — which was engaged by several of the Marina Square tenants — said maintaining good housekeeping and sanitation levels is pivotal. “These pest problems can be minimised and better managed with robust and diligent pest-control measures ... adopting an early-detection approach and working with the respective tenants, agencies and building management to help identify and manage the problem effectively,” she said.