I thought that perhaps this was a one-off incident. But today, when I took the same route, I encountered the same stench. It seems that the problem of public urination in the area is a persistent one, since it is highly unlikely that the cleaners have not done their job in the past few weeks.

Although it was lunchtime, there were several people sleeping in the open area of the Esplanade underpass. One would assume that these loiterers are the likely culprits, since the Esplanade and Citilink Mall are both closed for the night, barring access to toilet facilities.

It is unacceptable that a world-class cultural hub such as the Esplanade be allowed to exist in such a shameful condition. Since it is visited by locals and tourists alike, public urination there reflects extremely badly on us as Singaporeans. Either toilet facilities should be provided outside of retail and performance hours, or better still, loiterers should be barred from the area.

Sheri Kristen Goh Kwee Hwa (Ms)