Just over a month ago, on 30 March, Facebook user named Newme Joyce made a disgusting discovery in her new BTO at Tampines Greenridge after finding countless small mould spots covering her walls.
In her Facebook post, the homeowner posted a few pictures of the mould-covered walls and noted that she found this only less than a month after she received the keys. The photos show dark patches on the wall, as well as a section that appears to be damp.
Her post which has received close to 2, 000 shares and hundreds of comments has since been taken down.
In response to her post, the Housing Development Board (HDB) said that “the mould was likely caused by the wall coming into excessive contact with water during the washing of the flat. If the windows are kept closed before the floor and wall can dry properly, the damp condition could promote the growth of mould.”
HDB then noted that it will meet with the owner to discuss ways of getting rid of the mould on the wall, stating that it will “arrange for the building contractor to replace the affected dry walls on a goodwill basis,” if necessary.
Following that, the owner Joyce, a single mother of two, had moved out of the premise to allow renovation works to take place. According to her friend, Facebook user Jolin Lau, Joyce is still living out with her children waiting for the works to be over before moving back into her BTO flat.
However, on 29 May (Wednesday), Ms Lau took to her Facebook to share another incident that affected her friend, Joyce.
In her post, Ms Lau revealed that halfway through the fixing job, Joyce received a call from SP Group informing her that her water bill has accumulated up to S$600.
As expected, this news obviously shocked Joyce as she has not be living in her BTO flat due to the renovations. As such, the owner then proceeded to get in touch with HDB to rectify this problem.
“She has tried to contact HDB and ask for an answer, HDB went up to her place again to check and they told her everything ok no leakage,” wrote Ms Lau.
In an attempt to find a solution to this problem, Joyce then emailed SP Group and approached her Member of Parliament to help her waive the bill, but these moves were rejected by SP Group.
Ms Lau then asked, “SP is asking her to pay! So who can she look for? GOVT?”
“Buying a New BTO isn’t cheap. Why give her so many problem? She needs to provide for her 2 kids maintenance, why asking this amount from her which she didn’t use it? She needs the money more than you!” expressed Ms Lau.
At the time of writing, Ms Lau has taken down her Facebook post but below is the screenshot of it.
