The fire at the market of Jurong West Street 41 has severely affected its stallholders, but Advisor to Jurong GRC Grassroots Organisations said on Sunday (16 Oct) that they will receive help in finding jobs and a mentor to understand their needs.
The Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, Ang Wei Neng, said that he has arranged a job fair at Jurong Green Community Club on 27 October.
The fair will focus on the food and beverage sectors and offer temporary and permanent kitchen jobs.
And to further help the stallholders he has started a mentor-ship scheme in which a grassroot leader will be attached to four or five stall holders to hear their needs and see how they can help.
However, when asked how stalls which had lost equipment and were not insured ,would be helped, the MP said he did not want to go into details as there were too many variations.
But he added that help for those who do not have savings – in particular, those with young children – was under consideration.
He added that some stallholders have talked about taking up another stall elsewhere because they estimated that the market at Block 493 will take at least a year to be rebuilt. Mr Ang said they can sign up for it that day.
The site is still unsafe for the general public, but the Housing Board (HDB) has stated that it has installed supports to prop up the structure to make the site at block 493 safe for entry. Work to clear the debris and carry out disinfection and anti-mosquito treatment has also started.
The stallholders and their staff were allowed to enter the site briefly under supervision on Sunday afternoon. Mr Ang said it was dangerous to enter the market to retrieve items, but he hoped that allowing stall owners into the site would give them closure.
A 41-year-old Singaporean man was earlier charged in court on Saturday (15 October) for causing the fire that destroyed the market.
Lim Ying Siang was charged for allegedly using styrofoam boxes to start the fire.
He will be remanded for a week for investigation, for the recovery of evidence and his case will be heard again on 21 October.
