A customer at an Ang Mo Kio coffee shop spotted a large rat crawling up a pipe at a roasted duck stall, near where several ducks were being hung out to dry.
The customer then took a photo of the rat “in action”.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident happened at a coffee shop at Block 339 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, and the customer was having his meal there at about 8 pm when he noticed a “black shadow” at the roasted meat stall.
The 42-year-old man, Mr Pan, then took out his phone to record a video and soon realised that the black shadow was actually a huge rat.
The rat measured about 15 cm long, roughly the same size as an average ruler, and was seen scurrying up a pipe at the back of the roasted meat stall, beside 4 roasted ducks that were hanging.
Pan added that the stall was closed at the time and that the hanging ducks were supposedly meant to be sold the next day.
He said that the exposed food could very easily be contaminated with bacteria, and it is made even more unhygienic with the rats crawling around the premises.
Concerned about the other stalls being affected by this incident, Pan said that he is not patronising the coffee shop anymore, at least for the time being.
Speaking to SMDN, a worker at the roasted meat stall said that since the stall first opened about 2 years ago, this is the first time that rats have been spotted at their stall.
They added that moving forward, they will now store all the food that was left in the open, properly.
According to the other stallholders, they said that they have seen the rats in the rubbish area behind the coffee shop, where one or two would come out at night looking for food.
They added that the premises are cleaned every few months, and will be closely monitoring the situation.