West Edge residents complain 436 MSCP filled with M'sian registered bikes owned by Aetos officers, insufficient parking spaces for existing residents

Residents living in West Edge at Bukit Batok have complained that there are insufficient parking spaces for motorcycles in the 436 MSCP. Most of the parking spaces were occupied with “Malaysian registered bikes”, which they claimed are owned by AETOS officers. TOC was earlier informed on Sunday (24 May) claiming that motorcycle parking spots in West Edge were “taken by Malaysian registered bikes”, adding that Singaporean motorcyclists are getting “tickets” as they couldn’t park at the designated parking area for motorcycles. “This is in Bukit Batok, West Edge. The lots are apparently taken by Malaysian registered bikes belonging to Aetos officers. Our own citizens kena tickets liao cuz cannot find parking lot,” the resident said. The email was sent alongside a series of screenshots of other residents' complaints that were posted on a private Facebook page – West Edge & West Rock Neighbours. One of the screenshots was a post penned by Aidi Muhammad Junaidi, who posted a few photos of parking lots on two floors of the building that appear to be unoccupied. Mr Aidi wrote that the empty spaces at the car lots could have been designated as an extra parking lot for motorcycles, but "they never do". He added that there are no parking spaces for motorcycles at night. Some residents commented that other parking lots are also full, and one netizen wrote that the parking lots are all taken up by Aetos officers. One resident, who goes by the name Hasz, posted on the West Edge & West Rock Neighbours Facebook page, claiming that some residents couldn't find "a single lot" to park their bikes. The resident noticed that there were "a lot of Malaysian registered bikes" parking at 436 MSCP in the last few days, and available parking spots can only be found from the fourth floor onwards. Replying to Hasz's post,  one resident commented that 439 MSCP is also facing the same situation which led motorcyclists to park their bikes at the top floor of the MSCP. While another resident wrote that the HDB should issue a notice of information to the residents about the parking lots. One resident noted that the Housing Development Board has rented out the units to Aetos company, thus Aetos is charging rental inclusive of season parking to its Malaysian staff. Singapore companies which relied on Malaysians for their work force had to make urgent arrangements for their accommodations after the Malaysian government announced a nationwide restricted movement order on 16 March in its efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, which took effect from 18 March and was extended for the fourth time till 9 June. However, Hasz opposed and noted that there is "no season parking" at 436 MSCP. He said that an enforcement officer had come by at the parking lot and issued a summon to all the Malaysian registered bikes there. This is not exactly true as level one's lots are meant for season parking. One resident, Muhd Nur Firdaus said that he had brought up the issue to HDB and called an enforcement officer to complain about the matter. But he was advised by a warden to park at the car lot. However, under rule 10(1) of Parking Places Rules states that it is an offence to park in a parking place not designated for the use thereof, which carries the same penalty of not parking within the lot. Meanwhile, others are hoping that the admin of the West Edge & West Rock Neighbours Facebook page will pass on their complaints to the authorities. Following the complaints, TOC visited the parking lots at West Edge and spotted a number of bikes squeezed between the lots, and some even parked outside of the box as the bike lots were all full.

A Malaysian staff – an Aetos officer – whom TOC met during the visit, shared that he was unable to find parking lots and had gotten a summon of $35 for parking outside of the white box. He said that he has been trying to find ways to appeal against the summon. At times, he had to try to squeeze between his friends’ bikes in order to avoid getting summoned. However, it is interesting to note that the lots for the cars at 436 MSCP were largely empty from the fourth floor onwards. One possible quick solution for the problem that the motorists are facing, is to allow bikes to be parked at a particular level in the car lots. This will not pose an issue because the eight-storey MSCP has lifts situated at its end.  

Empty lots are also being spotted on the seventh and eighth floors of the MSCP. In fact, the parking lots can be seen relatively empty on the fourth floor onwards.

A resident – whom TOC spotted at the parking lot – said that he observed this situation just last week and was unaware of why there are too many Malaysian registered bikes at the MSCP. He agreed that if the empty car lots could be temporarily designated as parking lots for the additional bikes, it would resolve the issue. TOC has reached out to Chua Chu Kang Town Council for comments.