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Fran Lu

A Chinese woman’s dream of starting a new life in Singapore ended abruptly after she rented a dirty “piggy house” which she had to share with a dozen flatmates.
A woman, surnamed Liu, 41, recently told the Singaporean media outlet Shin Min Daily that her older sister rented space in a four-room flat crammed with at least 14 people.
The renter arrived in Singapore in mid-August to work at a beauty salon.
Under pressure from her employer to register an address, she rented the place without viewing it, paying the landlord S$900 (US$700), which included one month’s rent and a deposit.

When she moved in, she was shocked to find that the flat was packed with tenants.
Two of the four rooms had six dwellers each, one room had a couple. They were not aware of the conditions in the last room.
Only a narrow passageway was left to walk through in the flat. Towels were hung all over the living room and kitchen. The walls and the toilet were filthy.
Liu said there were two toilets in the flat, but the landlord only allowed tenants to use one of them, meaning a dozen people were forced to share one toilet.
Also, the landlord banned the opening of windows, causing the whole place to stink.

In addition, tenants had to share a key hidden outside the door of the flat, a place that was also accessible to outsiders.
“It was not a place for humans to live,” said Liu.
She said her sister moved out of the flat and returned to China after 10 days, and did not even ask the landlord for a rent refund.
Liu then went to the media to “expose such an evil deed”.
A neighbour who lives upstairs said she never noticed the condition of the rented flat because it was in a concealed location and the windows were blocked.
Shin Min Daily contacted who they thought was the landlord and found that the job had been subcontracted.
At first, the alleged sub-landlord admitted that she was subletting beds in the flat. Then, after realising she was speaking to a reporter, she retracted her statement.
The flat is one of Singapore’s affordable public housing stock, provided by the city’s Housing and Development Board (HDB).

According to HDB regulations, the maximum number of tenants allowed in a four-room and bigger flat is eight. The maximum number for a three-room flat is six, and for one-room and two-room flats, the number is four.
According to HDB, people who misuse flats will face financial penalties or the compulsory acquisition of the flat.
On social media, the reaction was one of anger.
“The blackhearted sub-landlord should be put in jail and then deported,” one online observer said.
“Such sub-landlords should be given a financial penalty of no less than what they have earned,” said another.


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Subcontracted landlord crams 14 people into filthy Lion City dwelling, insists that windows stay shut, making whole place stink


Subcontracted landlord crams 14 people into filthy Lion City dwelling, insists that windows stay shut, making whole place stink.


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China beauty salon worker lives in Singapore ‘piggy house’, shares dirty toilet with flatmates

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Subcontracted landlord crams 14 people into filthy Lion City dwelling, insists that windows stay shut, making whole place stink

Subcontracted landlord crams 14 people into filthy Lion City dwelling, insists that windows stay shut, making whole place stink