A one-metre-long black snake was seen on the premises of Raffles Hall last week on three separate occasions between Monday and Wednesday and has yet to be caught.

A cleaner first saw the snake in the male toilet on the ground floor of Block 3 on Monday at about 11 a.m.

The same snake was again spotted the following night at 9 p.m. trying to crawl through the window grill into the Resident Fellow’s unit in Block 3.

The resident fellow from Block 4 also spotted the snake on Wednesday morning at about 9 a.m.

All three times, the snake escaped before staff from the general office arrived at the scene.

The office sent out an e-mail to the residents on Monday cautioning that the snake could be poisonous and that the snake’s nest is believed to be within the vicinity of Block 3.

An external pest control agency has also been called in to patrol the grounds every day since Tuesday. Sulphur has been placed around the perimeter of each block to repel snakes.

Leong Siew Teng, Raffles Hall manager, said, “There is little that we can do now besides the precautions that we have put into place since its movements are difficult to detect.”

He said pest infestations are not a surprise since the hall is surrounded by greenery.

“Some students have voiced their concerns, but most remain calm about it. Some even wanted to try and catch it,” Leong said. “Of course, that’s not going to happen since it will put the students at risk.”

Lee Shumin, a first-year Chinese Studies undergraduate living in Block 6 said, “When I first heard that there was a snake, it felt unreal, but I also thought it was so exciting.”

The snake has not been sighted since last Wednesday.