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Toilets at coffee shops, food courts should not be open for public use

I refer to the online report, “Jurong West coffee shop ordered shut for a day due to poor toilet facilities” (March 17).

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Priscilla Poh Beng Hoon

I refer to the online report, “Jurong West coffee shop ordered shut for a day due to poor toilet facilities” (March 17).

It vexes me that people have double standards in how they treat their toilets at home and those for public use.

When you visit public toilets at malls and eating outlets, there are almost always unsightly food residue still left in the wash basins because people do not bother to rinse off after gargling.

It is really difficult for coffee-shop owners and food-court operators to ensure toilets are well maintained. This is because people do not bother to do simple cleaning up after themselves, and it is compounded by the problem that Singaporeans are not interested to work as cleaners and there is curtailment in the hiring foreign workers.

Given that patrons are so irresponsible and unappreciative, they should not be entitled to use the facility.

Coffee shops and food courts are not obligated to provide toilets for diners. They should be used by their management and workers only.

In hospitals, for example, I believe there are separate toilets for employees and patients/visitors. And obviously, those for patients/visitors require a lot more cleaning.

So long as there are wash basins fitted at these eating premises, it’s sufficient to meet diners’ needs. After all, it takes at most about 30 minutes for people to finish their meals at coffee shops or food courts, unlike at a restaurant where diners tend to spend longer time and might need to use the toilet.

The National Environment Agency must understand that dirty toilets in coffee shops and food courts are much harder to maintain. From my observation, as soon as these toilets are being washed, they quickly become dirty again within an hour.

With the impending water hike, coffee shops and food courts — especially smaller ones — are struggling to keep their businesses afloat. They should just bar the public from using their toilets.

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