Singapore's Rat Problem: Why Are They So Hard To Exterminate? | Talking Point | Full Episode

[@mrpolarbearrrrr]

I like how Munah pressured the NEA agents with tough questions. This is what journalism is all about. Unafriad of pushing the envelope. Job well done.

[@pinzhengzhang3776]

Funny that the manager is a Rat Control Unit but not trained to catch rats or manage them. Then what exactly is his job, collect pay? Don't even know what the agency is even doing.

[@BumbleBee-bc7vs]

@@pinzhengzhang3776 well said..the young executive with super clean white shirt just said we are not train to catch rats..we are the regulators..Wah I want to be one..just go n check if got rats..just tell the stakeholders or town councils..

[@coregunner55]

Seems like taichi. Here n there.

[@comusianrovers5422]

Nea is useless, all push to sub con. Nea just go and check, push all the dirty works to sub con.

[@MrFairuz1980]

They choose the right journalist

[@dadade]

NEA goes down to inspect neighbourhood, finds rat, tell Town Council. Town Council tells Pest Control to inspect neighbourhood again, tell town council. Town council then approve rat catching operations. Surely this level of red tape can be bypassed, we can save time/money/effort for everyone around.

[@worldview2888]

I am bumping this comment and hopefully some nincompoop minister can wake up his/her idea to actually do something proper about this. Going one big circle to show that one is "doing work". That is completely what it looks like. MOST cases immediate action is the most appreciated. Just allow the relevant department to act immediately instead of going one big round. Sometimes the correct department wants to get straight to action - but then clamped due to "protocol".

[@karebu2]

​@@worldview2888 isn't this standard practice regardless of issue? By the time the pest guys go down they will just write No rats found, case closed

[@androidaccount7743]

This is why government is useless.

[@peterpan9785]

The response from the NEA regualtors are so typical of singapore civil servants - -"we will inform the stakeholders" >> then what they will do is go back office send emails, wait for emails, send to management, wait for budget, wait for approvals >> This type of "behaviour" is not just by the NEA but by almost all the ministries --The "not within our scope of work" mentality (despite them being on national TV)

[@casie8621]

First world country but response exactly like third world country 😂

[@John_Smith_86]

But they are really not trained to catch rats. What you want them to do?

[@neorenjie]

"Sorry the officer handling the case resigned so I'm following up. Give me some time."

[@ttnate30]

​@@casie8621 Agreed.

[@androidaccount7743]

Typical useless government.

[@pepethefrog3651]

Lol is it just me or does the NEA inspectors give off a heck care attitude about this whole rat issue..

[@Jon888321]

Jiak liao bee. In my neighbourhood, every morning, I see a bunch of NEA cleaners sitting together at void deck eating, drinking and talking cock.

[@thebestbees]

Just another salaried worker, so got the bo chup mentality

[@zacklim4215]

lol what u expect, government agency.

[@lonerark1]

love how everything is the stakeholder responsibility

[@nabshme]

Too many “we will have to inform the stakeholder” = slow action and multiple steps wasting time. I can’t imagine if ever Singapore undergoes a zombie apocalypse, civil servants will also tell the public that they will refer to stakeholder.

[@chopsticksforlegs]

Who are the stakeholders? Isn't this a HDB block that belongs to the govt?

[@lucasjames7524]

A: "We're here to get rid of the rats." B: "There's one! Are you going to get it?" A: "No." B: "Who is?" A: "Bruh...just chill."

[@ymaizosz]

Yeah… Those 2 are quite a joke..

[@lidna82]

@ymaizosz It's just how our civil service is structured... NEA, town council, LTA, HDB. All divided by a fine line.

[@ymaizosz]

@@lidna82 Yes I'm aware of that. I studied in Singapore for 8 years. It has always been a very clean country even until today.

[@bobafett5757]

Playing the usual Tai Chi 😊

[@livethiswayTV]

"so when are y'all gonna catch it" "When it's no longer here"

[@jabezadm]

first world country problems be like - "we are not trained to catch the rats"

[@jeromefitzroy]

😂

[@Dumpylumpy90]

That purple Toa Payoh lady really got alot of free time to chart all rodent sightings. She should work for NEA

[@matreen427]

More of passion than free time? She’s very professional

[@jasxteo]

I can see the rats running in the drains and also across the same paths at the same time if you were there. It is like omg… our entire island is filled with rats!!

[@vlee9588]

Producer: THERE'S A RAT. It's in the drain Munah: So what does that mean? NEA dude: Most likely the rat is coming from the drain 🤣🤣

[@imrank9282]

Lived at BLK 52 of toa payoh, Candice is not exaggerating, there really are so many rats seen scurrying around the longkangs and blocks despite there being lots of cats there

[@edwardlim9240]

This problem has been area for the past 5 years. 5 years ago, CNA made a same report. And you know what? Nothing improved.

[@Sgscouser]

The NEA is managed by the retired SAF enciks. That why you see similar bureaucracy.

[@bobafett5757]

*Excellent documentary from CNA cant wait for Part 2 and both Munah and Steven nailed this both fabulous and professional in hosting* ❤

[@jessicaregina1956]

The question is what are you doing here

[@bobafett5757]

@@jessicaregina1956 The question is if you are not Munah then sorry u are not my type so shoooooo away 😁

[@jessicaregina1956]

The question ⁉️❓❓⁉️❓❓⁉️

[@bobafett5757]

@@jessicaregina1956 Please please please BabyGirl go take your Med now and Shoooooooooooo 😁

[@jessicaregina1956]

Question ❓❓❓❓

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

18:06 Steven is like "This guy is just letting rats run around in his cabinets????" LMAO speechless

[@slickswings]

Unfortunately this is just one example of Singapore adding layers of red tape that have created inefficiencies. Government agencies, contractors, and third parties love passing the buck around and diluting accountability.

[@kianchan73]

Toa Payoh rat situation is really bad. The rats hopped from one patch of turf to another and another.

[@worldview2888]

*** I regret to inform this to everyone - BEAUTY WORLD CENTRE (one of the most beloved places - Bukit Timah Nature Reserve) now has BIG RATS in the area. (12-June) People were screaming near the steps because a few of those things were spotted. I hope there is much more that the gov and agencies can seriously do something about it. This was actually not an issue previously.

[@asurajeff6316]

bruh sometimes i cant differentiate between rat and cat at sembawang

[@_graiderz2462]

GG.

[@carlmarcbaptista]

Rats spotted in the daytime is a MAJOR signal that thw situation is bad. They are nocturnal and heavy activity in the night makes the weaker rodents less likely to find food incompetition with tue stronger one. They thwn abandon thier nocturnal activity and forage in the daytime. Rodent populations are bad of daytime detection is possible. Also NEA not trained to catch rats? But are trained to detect them? Im gonna use that line the next time NEA tells me i cant smoke in a given area outside a yellow box. The can spot me, they can inform the stakeholder, but theu cant catch me!

[@currywoo7271]

Toa Payoh always has lots of rats, small area packed with residential units and markets/food centers. Years ago , you can regularly find flatten rats in car parks near the markets , the rats learned so you don't see that now. Wilds cats were everywhere and I've seen more snakes and Monitor lizards than live rats. The snakes and Monitor Lizards are mostly gone due to the greenery making way for even MORE residential units while the "wild" cat you see once in a while are well fed and has no interests in rats..

[@backgroundeffects1549]

One of the main reasons was that NEA loves taking in tenders that are either the lowest in the bid, or they will take in other bidders that were their former colleagues (eg, an ex-NEA officer started a Pest Control firm). Secondly, the town council is always lacking foreign workers, so it is no surprise to have 1 cleaner to support 10 to 15 blocks (with bin centres, drainage, washing, cleaning, etc) within an estate which is totally ridiculous. The pest issue has been plaguing around, especially Marsiling & Ngee Soon area since 2017 onwards. I was a former Pest Control Technician and I can reckon with that.

[@Gerrynade]

Reminds me of the time that the hill opp bukit Batok mrt was literally grey with rats from the food left for feeding dogs there... 2011?

[@Ash-c2d]

urgkh what!

[@hengchoon4082]

Can we check with NEA if their team actually works at night when the rat problem is more visible rather than normal day working hours ? Also, the actually rat catching is outsourced to pest control companies. Are they tracked for performance ? There maybe a conflict of interest as rat problem persist = more profits for pest control companies. May want to form a community volunteer residents group and pay them a small allowance to monitor the area and submit reports. Retirees very good for this type of job. Benefit community health and walking activity. School holidays also can let age 16 and above students to take these jobs rather than do delivery.

[@bobafett5757]

*This rat problem very serious need to be debated in upcoming Parliament talk cos Sg is first world country it tarnishes our clean city reputation*

[@ImWillyDS]

I love how CNA uncovers and being transparent about the rat infestation problem in Singapore despite being known as one of the cleanest country in the world. Compared to the other neighbouring countries, we would pretend not having rat infestation problem, and in some area, rats refers to the big fat, rich and glorified pol******* that enjoys excessive wealth with no consequences

[@MEX239]

great video, good editing and videography which revealed a underlying problem in singapore ❤

[@vsc7216]

1:01 - BALLS

[@dearfiyah]

Munah is totally me; I would ask follow up questions too. They tend to escalate to another organisation which may not be as efficient (especially when time is tight!)

[@fungserene1814]

There are plenty of rodents in Yishun.! They are huge, seem well fed.

[@dadade]

All eating the leftover cat food!!!

[@michaellim8601]

NEA is scared to fine cat feeders who do not clear away leftover food.

[@mamamememoo]

Yes. I wonder if it’s coz of the cat feeders and bird feeders. If we want to help the situation people have to stop leaving edible items everywhere

[@michaellim8601]

@@mamamememoo You are right.

[@Pawpaw71]

NEA officer carrying a tote bag lol. Going shopping is it? She's dressed for an office/indoor setting, not the outdoors where you need to bend and squat.

[@AikawaHajime]

So in another words, NEA staff get paid with significant paycheck to walk around playing detective games and doing nothing about it besides pushing the responsibilities to others. Got it.

[@jameschan1585]

I remember there were cats around that neighborhood. But some people like to feed those cats. Those cats are too lazy to catch rats, because of this.

[@DisgruntleSundaypig]

She is clearly not impressed when the NEA dudes taichi the problem away.

[@JarreIdk]

I found a rat sighting near Yew Tee Park Between Block 685C and the Park in front of Pang Sua Walkway and Yew Tee MRT Station, You will usually see it between Rahab Exercise Center in the area of the Park

[@Vincent-f6x]

3:36; even though I don't live in Singapore, I feel so frustrated.

[@goldwinner6139]

Actually most of the drains along CBD areas spotted heavily rats appears nearby markets or foodcourt centre. During dawned extremely often “they” Rats explore most bins along behind the back lanes. Surprisingly the rats sizes can seriously came in the same built or bigger then a NORMAL CAT 🐈. Hopefully the authorities fine helpfully received such information to detected more efficiently 😅

[@mamamememoo]

Yes. They are gigantic.

[@nicst3373]

Ever since our hawker centres and coffee shops started the self return tray policies the rodent problem emerged. Also the charging of plastic bags so now ppl just dump food wastes directly into chutes and bins without sealing w plastics

[@kennySg101]

I think regulator needs to do more proactive as they have more expertise. Town council officers need to be trained to deal with this new challenge.

[@yong9613]

Can always download the problem and allow AI to formulate solutions

[@kennySg101]

@@yong9613 get ai robots to catch them.

[@yhyh9226]

who's the MP of Toa Payoh?

[@BeachBoi1000]

I remembered when Lim Swee Say was the minister and he talked about the rat issues… now it still remains a tough nut to crack

[@androidaccount7743]

NEA = Useless. The number of times they've done nothing useful despite reports is astonishing.

[@damienwanderer]

by the time the pest control go over, the rat already move to another location. i feedback to NEA about my area with suddenly surge of crows (in2023 Jan), took them 4 mths to just trim the trees.. now the crows are back...

[@Joel-xe4re]

What are the downsides of allowing the stray cat population to increase in those hot spots?

[@mamamememoo]

Toa Payoh has a lot of stray cats. The area with a lot of rats actually has a lot of cats & well… doesn’t matter.

[@currywoo7271]

​@@mamamememoo No... Used to has a lot MORE , real WILD cats, not the well-fed culled ones we see here and there occasionally.. You hear cat fights and mating calls every night.but also rats squeals when cats hunts/chase them .. There are always lots of rats here the difference is the rats sighted now are mostly not dead.

[@kay418]

@@mamamememoo Likely people have been feeding the cats, why hunt when food gets delivered to u daily. Stray feeding is causing a negative externality to the neighbour hood. NEA please clamp down on this. It's basically litter because almost none of them clear it up anyways.

[@LYJManchesterUnited]

My house downstairs no rats but got bats flying around the trees can meh later spread new variant how

[@MEX239]

brother got bat fly into my window then at the corridor I was trap out of my house from coming back after buying bread from NTUC fairprice walau

[@heyitsayunimusfirah4044]

I once had a shrew spotted in my level 9 hdb apartment 😭😭😭 LIKE HOW, LEVEL 9 IS QUITE HIGH

[@mamamememoo]

nooooouuuuu 💩 serious??? 9th floor????? 😢 now I’m terrified. Which area???

[@zurgshay]

Munah really very interesting documentary topics

[@jamesdaymord4132]

Boat Quay might be the worst spot I've seen, completely infested with rats, you can see them running around once all spots are closed in the night

[@Rob-lq2ny]

That's shows how efficient is the government! Too many stages to get approval to get job done, unlike private sectors.

[@chewchim]

This problem started when our Government started the 5 cents plastic bag rule. Many residents simply throw food waste into the rubbish chutes unbagged. No one want to throw money down the drain.

[@Ash-c2d]

munah, youre so brave. id have.. fainted.

[@mingwu1133]

I noticed Singapore cats never catch rats for a living.

[@MEX239]

some do but most are abandoned becuase of the past laws against having them in HDB so they had to abandon them on the stteets

[@gotmyonu1027]

Too much regulations.... Taichi.....

[@gohshuifa]

Smoking situation at Toa Payoh is also very bad. Rainy days worse.

[@isaacng315]

It feels like Singapore society has gone backwards and regressed. Governance and leadership competency in country truly disappointing and questionable. Singapore the next Malaysian, whom who always laugh at? hmm.

[@Kennon959]

I remember a rat infestation in a nearby field adjacent to my university accommodation they were drawn the the bins and they even started to go into the halls. One morning I woke up early to go to my part time job and I walked near the bins scared the rats and there must've been thousands of rats running out

[@mamamememoo]

😱😱💀💀

[@Andy-ik9ti]

TBH, we are just not doing enough for waste management and enforcement on littering especially food waste. Ironically, I just feedback to town council on high rise littering. Some idiot neighbor threw food waste and it landed on my service yard ledge. Even the contractor from TC told me when they asked help from NEA, they always get reply like, nothing they can do......

[@ernestkj]

Our stray cats dont hunt rats anymore as they are very very well fed by 'kind people'!

[@Bisukt]

The rat's balls are HUGE!

[@deniseli8315]

Toa Payoh confirm the most, crows also. The cause should be the stall holders never engage pest control officer like Rentokil, want to save the bimonthly affair.

[@mamamememoo]

And all the ‘kind’ people leaving food for the stray cats and pigeons. The crow issue is no joke. Jurong East, Toa Payoh have lots of crows. How? Another Talking Point episode?

[@amitrockz1158]

ये बिल्ली सब इकोसिस्टम को बर्बाद कर दिया है, बिल्लियों ने चुहों का शिकार करना बंद कर दिया है और चुहों की तादाद लगातार बढ़ रही है। बिल्लियों को पालतू नहीं बनाएं

[@trext888]

I see London has comunity which have trained domestic dogs chasing rats and exterminate them. Also i have seen US have companies that using BB guns to exterminate pests. In SG, we have tough laws which these solutions might not be allowed to work

[@ev4d0r3]

2:39 cockroach eggs?????😂

[@DynamicLearning4u]

CNA should look into smoking issues in HDB flats

[@Pawpaw71]

And vaping. How easily it is for underaged kids to gain access to it when its supposed to be illegal.

[@chappali88]

8:13 candice is pretty

[@kokhwaliaw246]

I saw one in hougang

[@jimmyg558]

Rats are quite literally running around in kopitiams and eateries, freely, during mid-days. Pigeons and cats are doing the same. Soon we'll be dining in zoos. This society is so woke ❤❤❤

[@Jalansun]

Lots around raffles hospital at night, horrible

[@snassass478]

One upon a time there is this thing Call ( Rat Poison ) and it was use everywhere in SG Why now the ( Rat Poison ) not in use? Can u please tell me ( WHY )?

[@Idkwhoisthisplz]

sembawang camp cookhouse and singapore zoo staff area got a lot of rats

[@jefferytay3225]

NEA number 1. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Wow half F efforts, no rats got burrows? How you can tell its cockroach dropping vs rat dropping if "not trained" to catch? So your job is taiji lor? Who train you all catch people littering and smoking? Garment agencies favourite exercise is taiji. Push to other department nia

[@mamamememoo]

I live at that estate and I’ve heard squeaking sounds emitting from the bins at night. It can last for quite long and are really loud.

[@edmaori5601]

“Well actually this are colonial rats, what they do is that they send out workers rats that is called marsupials” - Mike Lowry

[@ang1852]

The datasets on rat population based on citizens' feedback is inherently inaccurate. I've been to Nature reserves at night. Rats occur there and most nature reserves are quite near residential areas and it will not be reported. The rats are species which we couldn't get the scientific name exactly, because it takes experts to correctly name the species. We couldn't tell whether the rat is natural species or cosmopolitan species. The dataset is mainly where people live and not exactly where rats live and this makes the dataset not reflective of the situation. Although some useful info can be derived from it, we should know that statistics can be manipulated or veered in a narrative.

[@wkiatl3775]

NEA fine littering and other money related offences is the fastest , any other stuff without monetary gains "Not our problem"

[@lidna82]

Rats also prefer where the million dollar residence are. 😅

[@jonyongkkkl5119]

The rat problem in Singapore is mainly due to the lack of snakes and cats roaming in towns/city. Singaporeans have to choose between living with rats only, or having rats, snakes and cats on the streets. The answer is clear, rats causes the least trouble to pedestrians compared to snakes.

[@mamamememoo]

Have many cats but the cats don’t have to hunt as there are many people feeding them. So the cats get fed, the rats also get fed by their leftovers… kind people just making the situation worse.

[@michaellim8601]

​@@mamamememooYou are right. Cat feeders do not clear away leftover food attracting rats.

[@gerrywong3332]

We have rodents infested in Kembangan too

[@RinaLoh]

i was watching and quite a few times it was mentioned the rats are really smart. 😆

[@achmaddzaki03]

Jakarta > Singapoor

[@Jon888321]

Govt agencies tai chi here and there, that’s why things do not get done. Jiak liao bee.

[@Summerxxwinter]

I live on Singapore tampines

[@cchew2649]

What about the wild feral roosters pests issues causing many to lose sleep?

[@alvtan1554]

NEA talks and coordinates with town councils. Learn to be proactive.learn from what other countries do. NEA failed.

[@webstertoh]

was expecting yishun but nvm

[@beepbeep5153]

Toa payoh bloom value going up for sure /s

[@ang1852]

haha..because we are not trained to catch rat. which is true. Also the law nowadays is not very clear on such matters. Like people can catch a rat, yes or no, It is not very clear. The Animal cruelty part, what happens after you catch a rat. Now some people like to film people , they show people torturing rats, then the animal cruelty people come out and rant. My stance is people can take a few types of animals, fish and insects legally, but the law is a blanket law that says all types of animals are protected by the law. so that's why people are not doing anything, because people are not trained. Cannot say it is due to Hougang , but it is due to natural areas like Hougang is bordered by 2 big canals. Toa payoh is also bordered by 2 big canals and the rats live at a places which is slightly off the control of these town councils and moved into the area at night through the drain systems. Some are probably on Nparks' land and SLA, LTA land or land under development, old industrial estates. Some land fenced up, rats can go through the fence but not people. and some cat and dog people like to feed dogs but if they stay to watch, actually, some rats came out to eat the food instead. There is a decrease in Natural predators, like owls or snakes. Part of the reasons is the gov not explicitly giving citizens the go ahead to perform citizen catching and disposal of rats.

[@jarrodyuki7081]

Gene drives to control mice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@LYJrb819]

Ok

[@pandulani]

Soo cute

[@HatiKeseorangan]

country who anti-cat will have alot of this MOUSE.... DOG is a friends to the RAT... !

[@bobafett5757]

*Hougang Sengkang Aljunied are quite new estate how come got manifested by so many rats so whos the MP there ?*

[@John_Smith_86]

I heard of cats lady. This is the first rats lady I heard of, lolz

[@diversedimensions-g5z]

😮

[@gotmyonu1027]

What a silly question to ask.....

[@setiajumpman]

‘so much drama at the beginning’ no u cried. move on n there wont be ‘drama’

[@mookmook6989]

lol this interviewer everything also cry

[@mamamememoo]

She’s adorable lol

[@anziar3038]

Rats can be easily found in aljunied, hougang and sengkang. These places are poorly managed. 😂😂

[@bobafett5757]

Who is the MP there ?

[@michaellim8601]

​@@bobafett5757Faisal manap

[@bobafett5757]

@@michaellim8601 He cannot run it alone but still hes doing good job

[@chopmoon]

erm... did you not watch the video? Top 3 neighbourhoods with most rat sightings - Toa Payoh (PAP), Tampines (PAP) and Hougang (WP) If Opposition wards are poorly managed, what's the excuse for Toa Payoh and Tampines eh?

[@bobafett5757]

@@chopmoon Serangoon Chinatown Bedok PasirRis also highly manifested

[@azleeabdullah7972]

Singapore clean. Lol