Neighbour’s noisy parrot forces woman to sell her Bedok HDB flat; noise pollution problem for many

After 13 years of tranquillity, a woman was forced to sell her flat in Bedok due to her neighbour’s noisy parrot that would squawk in the middle of the night and early morning.

The 45-year-old woman surnamed Wu, chose to sell her Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat at Block 620 Bedok Reservoir Road because of her neighbour’s parrot.

“I’ve lived here for 13 years and have always been comfortable until a year ago when the tranquillity was broken,” she told Chinese language newspaper Shin Min Daily News.

Ms Wu said that the parrot was kept in a cage along the corridor. She added that her neighbour would begin to whistle from 7 pm onwards while the parrot screeched in response.

“The situation would last till 10 pm, and it didn’t stop. On weekends, the situation would get worse, and it’s hard for us to sleep,” said the concerned individual.

“At first, for the sake of being good neighbours, I held back and didn’t say anything, but I didn’t expect the family to take advantage of our silence.”

Ms Wu grew to “hate going home” because of the impending noise at night.

“I couldn’t bear to go home after a busy day as I couldn’t rest. After going through this torture, I decided to sell the house,” she noted.

She has already found a buyer and has to endure a few more months until next year, February.

Another resident told Shin Min Daily News that she resorted to wearing earplugs at night, but the noise was still audible.

Meanwhile, a male occupant of the unit in question said that the owner would “return” the parrot, but did not provide more details.

It appears that noisy pet birds are a common issue among HDB residents.

“Dun understand HDB laws. Can ban cats, ban big dogs. Now can birds or not? At times, birds very very noisy like rooster morning calls,” said Facebook user Jennifer C L Loh.

Although some noted that these birds were a part of nature and “small noises” shouldn’t lead to such drastic measures, others confirmed that parrot squawking could become noise pollution.

“Parrot squawking can really be irritating indeed. Extremely loud. Owners have to be considerate to their neighbours,” said Facebook user Melissa Chia in a comment with over 265 likes.

“I have a neighbour who keeps parrots, and they were placed in the corridor and yelling. Quite annoying, I would say. And we are staying more than four units apart yet still very annoying,” said a resident.

“I totally understand her situation. I myself have dreamt about poisoning my neighbour’s parrot on many occasions,” added another resident.

Facebook user Kalaivani Murugesan said covering the cage at night could address the situation. /TISG

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