The discovery of a dead body in an HDB water storage tank sparks debate. (Yahoo! file photo)Sembawang Town Council has agreed to replace one of the water storage tanks at a Woodlands HDB block in which a dead Indonesian maid's body was discovered earlier this month.This after residents of Block 686B Woodlands Drive 75 had voiced their anger at their town council on Saturday over the lack of transparency and mismanagement of the safety of the water tanks.
On the cost of replacing the water tank, which is estimated to be about $40,000, Sembawang MP Vikram Nair was quoted in The Straits Times as saying, "The changing of the tank was one of the main things residents wanted. They were very uncomfortable about keeping the tank because it reminded them of the incident."
Currently, only four of the eight tanks at the top of the HDB block are in use. The other four, including the tank in which the body was discovered, have been isolated.
A Bangladeshi cleaner, 27, who had access to the water tanks has been charged with the murder of the 30-year-old maid, Ms Ruliyawati,
Over the weekend, about 150 residents turned up at the dialogue session held at the void deck of their block and said the town council should have told them to stop consumption of the water immediately.
Water supply to the block had been cut off only about an hour after the body had been discovered. But many residents said that they still consumed water from the affected tank which was residual in the pipes, till as late as 5pm that same day.
"The town council should have told us more. I was still using the water to bathe and rinse my mouth," said resident Edwin Hong, 40, at the dialogue session attended by Town Council members, the Public Utilities Board and Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair.
"Maybe they could not tell us exactly what happened. But at the very least, they should have told us not to consume the water due to suspected contamination."
With some residents describing the actions of the town council "inexcusable", about 80 residents signed a petition demanding, among other things, that the current management of the town council step down.
Other items in the petition included replacing the affected tank and an installing alarm system at the tank site.
Sembawang Town Council general manager Soon Min Sin admitted that it was a "key mistake made", and that locks to the tanks will be changed.
"It was an oversight and we could have informed residents that there would be residual water in the pipe system. Honestly, we did not think of that."
The residents were also puzzled as to how the accused, Md Bepon, had access to the rooftop storage water tank. It is believed that he had keys to the roof.
There were also calls for CCTV cameras at the access points to the rooftop and keys that are not easy to duplicate.
Nair, a newly elected MP for Sembawang GRC, said police investigations are underway and details will only be revealed in court.
He pointed out that the keys to the room will be restricted to town council staff from now on.
Residents will also receive S$10 off their next PUB bill and will be reimbursed for any medical bills incurred in relation to the incident.
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