SINGAPORE - While washing a baby bottle, a domestic helper in Ang Mo Kio was shocked when a worm dropped into the bottle along with the running water from a kitchen tap on Dec 6.

Another resident also found a worm in the toilet bowl a few weeks ago.

Both incidents occurred at Block 472 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday (Dec 17).

National water agency PUB and the Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) said in a joint statement last Friday that they received feedback that a worm had been found in the tap water from a unit in the Housing Board block.

"The water supply from the resident's unit was found to be clean and clear during the town council's checks," said the statement.

"Subsequently, AMKTC checked the water tanks and the pump room on Dec 7 and no worms were observed."

As a precaution, AMKTC sent officers to clean the water tanks and pump room.

No other similar cases were reported by other households in the same block, PUB and the town council said.

On Dec 12, officers from PUB and AMKTC conducted further checks including the taps in the resident's premises, water tank and PUB's water supply main, and carried out water quality testing on-site.

The water from these water points was found to be clean and clear, with no signs of worms at all the points.

PUB added that it has a comprehensive and rigorous monitoring programme to ensure that drinking water is clean and wholesome.

Based on the photo provided by the resident, the worm was likely an earthworm, which could have come from the surrounding area, said the agency.

The domestic helper, known only as Xue Li, 32, said she initially thought the creature from the tap was a piece of food, Shin Min reported.

"But then I saw that it was a 4cm to 5 cm live worm and I ran to the living room to alert my employer," she said.

Her employer, a cashier who only wanted to be known as Ms Zhang, said the family immediately notified the town council, which sent two officers to her home that night. The next day, workers also arrived at the block of flats to check on and clean the water tank on the roof.

Ms Zhang, 32, added that the water cleanliness is very important to her as she has three young children under the age of five. Since the incident, the family has been boiling its drinking water.

Their neighbour on the 11th storey, who was only named as Mr Lin in Shin Min's report, said: "My wife saw a worm in the toilet bowl a few weeks ago, but because it was in the toilet, we were not very concerned."