A routine trip home turned into an unpleasant surprise for a Queenstown resident after she was warned that something had been left inside the lift at her HDB block.
Queena Ong, 26, said the incident happened at about 11.30pm on Aug. 31 at Block 160 Mei Ling Street. A neighbour reportedly stopped her from using the lift and warned her that someone had defecated inside.
Instead of simply walking away, Ong became curious and later returned with one of her younger sisters to see what had happened.
She told AsiaOne that faeces had been smeared in a corner of the lift and that the smell was extremely unpleasant. She initially found the situation amusing, but said she began gagging after breathing in the odour.
The lift was cleaned the next day
Ong said the lift had been cleaned by the following morning.
However, the experience left her uncomfortable about using it. She told both AsiaOne and Stomp that she had avoided the lift for several days because she was worried about possible residue or bacteria on surfaces such as the floor, buttons and handles.
Ong also said she had never encountered a similar incident before and expressed sympathy for whoever may have been responsible, suggesting the person might have been unable to control their bodily functions.
Town council contacted over incident
AsiaOne and Stomp both reported that Tanjong Pagar Town Council had been contacted for more information about the incident.
As of the reports, there was no confirmed information identifying who was responsible or explaining why the incident happened.
The case has also reignited a broader conversation about cleanliness in Singapore’s shared public spaces.
Singapore continues its public-hygiene push
The incident comes against the backdrop of Singapore’s wider efforts to maintain cleanliness in communal facilities.
A CNA investigation published in 2025 found that nearly half of 36 coffee-shop and hawker-centre toilets visited by reporters were dirty, highlighting the continuing challenge of maintaining hygiene in heavily used public facilities. Authorities have also increased inspections and enforcement measures for public toilet cleanliness.
The Queenstown incident, however, involves an HDB lift rather than a public toilet, and there is currently no indication that it is connected to any wider pattern in the area.
For residents, the immediate issue was much simpler: a shared lift became unusable for some time because of an extremely unpleasant mess.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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