ST : Sun's out, laundry's out - at playground

Apr 25, 2010

Sun's out, laundry's out - at playground

Neighbours fume as HDB residents hang laundry out to dry in public areas

By Jamie Ee Wen Wei

They may not have washed their dirty laundry in public.

But some HDB residents are certainly airing them in public - in playgrounds and fitness corners in their estate.

Naturally, their neighbours are giving them dirty looks.

They complain that the laundry, draped across the playground equipment and benches, are an eyesore and prevent other residents from using the facilities.

At least two estates, Senja Road and Fernvale, are known to have this problem.

Two residents had recently flagged the issue on Stomp, Singapore Press Holdings' citizen journalism website.

One of them, student Cedric Lee, 18, said he started seeing residents sunning their laundry in the playground in his Senja Road estate in Bukit Panjang a few months ago.

They usually do so on sunny days or weekends.

Everything - from mattresses and bedsheets to carpets and even underwear - is brought out into the open.

Mr Lee said: 'Some children wanted to play in the playground but couldn't because of all these clothes hanging at the playground.'

Housewife Chew Lee Seah, 40, said her three kids have to find alternative play areas. 'Just imagine crawling under red underwear and black bras. It's just disgusting,' she fumed.

Over at Sengkang West, resident Ong Hwee Jing, 25, also observed that some residents are using the playground and fitness equipment for their drying needs.

'It's not only an eyesore, residents also have to dodge the clothes lines. They should be more considerate,' she said.

When The Sunday Times visited the two estates last week, a Sengkang West resident admitted that he airs his bedsheets at the playground occasionally.

'The weather is so hot I thought nobody would go to the playground. It's been raining so much these days there's no sunlight coming into our house,' he said.

Town councils of both estates said the hanging of laundry in common areas is 'strictly not allowed'.

A spokesman for Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council said it received 10 complaints last year from residents in Senja Road estate.

It has advised residents to be more considerate and remove their laundry from these areas. Educational posters have been put up on notice boards in the lift lobbies.

The Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang Town Council had three complaints from residents of Fernvale estate in Sengkang. A spokesman said its officers found a maid from a ground-floor unit who had hung laundry at the playground.

The town council has spoken to her.

Some people feel more should be done. Housewife Uma Ram, 38, said offenders should be given a 'stern warning'.

Others are more sympathetic. School bus driver Chia Eng Wah, 52, said: 'As long as they don't disturb anyone, it's OK.'

jamieee@sph.com.sg

Have you seen residents hang laundry in open areas in your estate? E-mail suntimes@sph.com.sg



Clothes draped over the playground equipment in Senja Road estate. Everything from carpets to underwear has been spotted. -- PHOTO COURTESY OF CEDRIC LEE