Neighbour from hell is back: Resumes loud knocking on bedroom wall

Singapore – After months of reprieve from the loud knocking on the bedroom wall, a family’s nightmare has returned.

Last year, Mr Shafiee Hassan and Ms Aida Kodiron’s story was featured on an episode of the Talking Point programme on television. They shared that a neighbour who had moved in three months earlier knocked loudly on a bedroom wall at random times throughout the night.

“From then on, my life and my family’s life, has been in a tremendous state of panic, anxiety and trauma,” said Mr Shafiee. The family stopped sleeping in that bedroom and pull all their bedding out of it to sleep in the living room every night.

“He would use an object to bang on the wall,” said Ms Aida. The loud knocking frightened their three children, traumatising the eldest. “He has to go seek a psychologist’s help, and he has anxiety attacks,” she said.

On Saturday (May 30), Ms Aida provided an update of the problem on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page. She noted that the man did not sell his flat after the show was aired on television. He had rented it out to “very nice students until two days ago”. The students had to move out due to the high rental rate.

When the neighbour returned, loud knocking resumed on the bedroom wall. Ms Aida said she saw the man bringing someone to his flat the day before and then leaving. The family is not sure whether the person brought back was there to stay.

In a follow-up comment on Sunday (May 31), Ms Aida mentioned that the man brought someone back to his unit. “He went down and hung out downstairs during the circuit breaker period,” she said. The concerned mother, who has gathered evidence on the incident, wondered if she could bring the issue to court.

Those who commented on her post shared similar experiences with their neighbours. They also sent their regards to the family, especially the children.

A few individuals added videos of their neighbours knocking on the wall or floor.

One person gave a few pointers on how to deal with the situation, such as being committed to knocking back on the wall in hopes of making a point.

Another person tagged the Housing and Development Board and the Singapore Police Force and asked if anything could be done to help the family and the others suffering from such situations.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Ms Aida for a comment and she shared that the man has refused to sell his unit despite HDB giving approval to do so. “He also keeps going back and forth in front of our corridor not sure why,” she said. The man had also got wind of her Facebook post and had called estate officers to advise her to take it down, she added.

Below is Ms Aida’s initial post in July 2019.

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