'Cockroaches crawl onto clothes': Elderly couple frustrated by loose refuse chute hopper in Tampines flat
An elderly couple living in a Tampines four-room unit has been grappling with a cockroach problem after their chute hopper became loose in April, reported Shin Min Daily News on Sunday (Sept 20).Retiree Zhong Qiangxing (transliteration), 69, bemoaned how roaches and lizards began appearing in their flat on the eighth floor."We've lived here for 30 years, and the hopper never had any problems," Shin Min quoted him as saying.His wife said they are willing to pay a handyman to replace the faulty chute, but the contractor they found still has not started work."They said removing the chute might cause the wall tiles to fall, and they could not determine if any other work would be needed, so construction has been delayed," she claimed.Meanwhile, the couple have been tolerating the foul smell of waste as well as pests.On one occasion, a cockroach even crawled onto their son, according to the report."Sometimes when I am hanging out clothes to dry in the kitchen, cockroaches will crawl onto them," the wife said.