Leaky ceiling at Yuhua Place market raises concerns for elderly, stallholder claims business halved
Stallholders at Yuhua Place Market and Hawker Centre say parts of the market’s ceiling leak during heavy rains, leaving the floor wet and raising concerns about elderly shoppers slipping.
Additionally, the wet and slippery floor also affects business at the market, located at Block 347 Jurong East Street 31.
Funeral goods stallholder Ms Hu (transliterated), 26, said the leaky ceiling already existed when she opened her shop in the market around six months ago.
“It started with just a little bit of water leaking, but it gradually got worse. I even saw an auntie almost slip and fall in front of my stall,” she said.
When Shin Min Daily News visited the market on July 24, water seepage marks could be seen on parts of the ceiling.
Hu had also marked the areas where water had leaked with black markings to monitor the extent of the problem.
A longstanding problem
Vegetable stallholder Mr Li (transliterated), 67, said the problem had persisted for more than four years.
“The wet market underwent three months of repairs in 2024, but the problem was still not completely resolved,” Li said.
He was concerned about the potential safety risks, particularly as many elderly residents live in the area.
Another vegetable stallholder, Mr Chen (transliterated), 62, said the ceiling appeared to have gaps that allowed water to seep through whenever it rained.
He claimed that his earnings had fallen by around half as a result of the leaky ceiling.
Clothing stallholder Ms Zeng (transliterated), who is in her 40s, said the authorities had previously sent workers to carry out repairs, but the situation only improved for around two or three months.
“I use a floor squeegee to clear the water. Sometimes, the water even flows into my stall,” she said.
Town council says it is working to fix leaks
In response to Shin Min’s queries, a spokesperson from the Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council said it had received reports of leaks at different parts of the wet market over the past few months.
In those cases, it had carried out repairs promptly.
However, the town council said it had not received any reports regarding the latest leak mentioned by the stallholders.
“The leak currently reported has not been reported before. It has not been there for the past two years,” said the spokesperson.
“The Town Council is working to repair the leak expeditiously,” the spokesperson added.
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