A Malaysian man found himself sequestered in decrepit hovel in the Jurong Apartments worker dormitory where he was required, as a construction worker, to quarantine for a third week.
It was a stark contrast from the hotel Felix Kwan had stayed at during his first two weeks. From there he was taken to the dorm located in the island’s west, where he had to climb seven stories with 30 kilograms of luggage to find a rundown living space. The stained concrete floors, peeling wall paint, dusty tables, and moldy sink were unacceptable for Kwan, who detailed his dire circumstances in a number of tweets last week culminating in his eventually securing a liveable room after his cries for help reached the Manpower Ministry.
“Upper Jurong road. Never [knew a] place like this [existed] in Sg (sic). It’s even worse than the quarantine facility in Malaysia :’)” he wrote on Twitter.
“Finished my 14-day [stay home notice] with a negative [swab] test. And then they transferred me to this shit hole because I work in the construction sector wah :’),” he added.
Low-wage foreign workers in industries such as construction and marine shipyard have been required to quarantine an additional seven days at designated facilities since January. As of February, that has included mid-level workers earning at least S$2,500 a month and holding S Pass work visas, as Kwan does.
According to his tweets, Kwan complained to his employer about the quarantine facility, leading to him being moved twice.
The first was another filthy room that an officer told him was “the cleanest in the entire building.” It was not noticeably better.
Finally, he was led to a third room, this time a clean unit with tiled floors, standing fans, a proper bed frame and sanitary toilet.
“I just wanna express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to the department and relevant officers for listening to the [feedback] & understand that the previous complaints were never made in bad faith,” Kwan wrote Thursday.
Both Kwan and Jurong Apartments declined to comment for this story. The Manpower Ministry told Coconuts that the room that Kwan had complained about did not meet its standards either.
“The room that Mr Kwan was initially assigned did not meet with our expectations, and we had told the managing agent so. We had contacted Mr Kwan and arranged for him to be put up in another room,” a ministry rep said in a message.
What the fuck man… 我真的要哭了 pic.twitter.com/eEFsVSDmO2
— 洗頭洗到天亮的婦人 (@dameinvxixi) March 15, 2021
“hello are you Felix? You complained that your unit and toilet is dirty right? Let’s change room, your new unit is here”
*Proceeded to bring me, the other 2 guys from the previous unit to the new unit, which is already preoccupied by 2 other guys.*
New unit: pic.twitter.com/INIXnYzRwD
— 洗頭洗到天亮的婦人 (@dameinvxixi) March 15, 2021
— 洗頭洗到天亮的婦人 (@dameinvxixi) March 18, 2021
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