Sungei Road flea market to shut down on 10 July
After being around for more than eight decades, the Sungei Road flea market, also known as the Thieves Market, will cease to exist on July 10 this year.
The site where the market is located currently will be “used for ground preparation works to facilitate future residential development use”, according to a joint statement issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Workforce Singapore, National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Police Force.
The statement also noted that of the 31 rag-and-bone men who were issued permits to operate on the streets in the 1970s to 1980s, only 11 still operate at the flea market.
The 31 were not included in the resettlement programme of moving street hawkers into purpose-built markets and hawker centres with proper amenities “because of their chosen trade”. NEA will offer the 11 permit holders a spot at selected hawker centres at subsidised rental rates should they choose to continue operating.
The flea market will continue to be available to vendors on a first-come-first-serve basis until the last day of operation.
For vendors who are registered with the SPF under the Secondhand Goods Dealers Act and wish to continue their trade elsewhere, they will need to provide a new business address.
Over the years, the Association for the Recycling of Second Hand Goods, which represents the Sungei Road traders, said it has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office and various ministries on its proposals for the sellers to ply their trade at alternative sites.
The authorities have said that they would only allow flea markets to run on a temporary basis such as at trade fairs and street bazaars.
The NHB has embarked on research and documentation efforts on the Sungei Road flea market and its vendors to preserve memories of the site for future generations. These resources are available on NHB’s heritage portal, Roots.sg.
