SINGAPORE — A SingPost postman who allegedly discarded mail into a dustbin at Ang Mo Kio without delivering them has been arrested.

SingPost said on Tuesday (Jan 29) that it had investigated the issue after a Facebook user posted photos of the discarded mail on Monday night, and then referred the matter to the police.

Police investigations are ongoing.

SingPost said in a statement that it “unreservedly apologises” to the residents of the following blocks:

• Blks 612 to 619 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4

• Blks 175 to 178 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4

• Blks 179 to 182 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5

• Blk 611 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5

Facebook user Alyce Kathlyn had posted a series of photos on Monday night showing unopened letters from government agencies such as the Land Transport Authority and the Ministry of Health's Community Health Assist Scheme, addressed to residents of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 and 5, all lying in a public dustbin.

As the post swiftly went viral, SingPost sent a team to Ang Mo Kio the same night to comb the area for the undelivered mail and questioned the postman on duty.

In its statement, SingPost said that affected residents, or residents aware of any other incidents of discarded mail, can call its hotline at 6845 6222 during office hours.

"Any postman found to have committed such offences will be disciplined, and, where applicable, dealt with by the full extent of the law," the firm said.

This is the latest in a series of public complaints about poor service quality that SingPost has had to deal with.

In a viral post last year, a SingPost postman was caught on camera discarding returned letters and direct mail at a condominium. He was later fired.

On Jan 14, SingPost made a public apology for its "service failures" over the holiday period, citing unexpectedly high volumes of mail.

The apology came after rumblings on social media about poor service by postal workers. For example, a netizen said he had to chase after a delivery man to claim his parcel, when the man left after knocking at his door for a "few seconds".

On Jan 14, SingPost — which processes an average of 3 million mail items a day — made a lengthy public apology on Facebook for its "service failures" over the holiday period, citing unexpectedly high volumes of mail.

In February last year, then-Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said in Parliament that a postman has to deliver mail items to an average of around 20 Housing and Development Board blocks, or about 2,000 dwelling units, in six hours.

Dr Yaacob was responding to a question tabled by Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC Louis Ng, who asked whether there was a cap on the number of letter boxes a postman has to cover per day and whether there are regulations to safeguard postmen’s working conditions. 

Mr Ng’s question came after a high-profile incident in January last year involving a postman who was caught on video discarding returned letters and direct mail. The postman, who has since been dismissed, claimed in the video that he had over 2,600 letter boxes to cover in a day.