Yet another encounter with a neighbour from hell has left a family feeling unsafe in their own home. A family residing in Petir Road has reached out to The Independent Singapore regarding their “nuisance neighbour who loved to harass” them.
On March 31 this year, Ms Elsie noticed that their plants looked unhealthy with yellowish leaves.
This prompted the family to review their doorbell footage, catching their neighbour red-handed.
“She was seen walking quickly towards our plants that are placed in the corridor and holding a bottle of substance in her hand. She quickly splashed that bottle around our plants before making off. This is totally property damage!” said Ms Elsie.
Ms Elsie revealed that their neighbour had a reputation of being “notorious” in their block; hence it was no coincidence that their plants were dying because of the same woman.
Ms Elsie also admitted that the encounter had made her fearful. “I would get very vigilant whenever me and my family were out of the house.”
“Hope you get run over by a car, die die die, no parents,” the woman allegedly said.
“Several complaints against this unit had been filed over the years by different neighbours, be it the unit living below her, above her, she is bound to have conflicts with,” said Ms Elsie.
The family decided to report the harassment issues to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the police in September 2021, however, they were told to go to the Community Mediation Centre for resolution.
“CMC requires two parties to attend; thus, this fell through,” said Ms Elsie.
Another police report was made in November 2021 after the woman hurled abusive language at Ms Elsie as she walked past her unit to the lift lobby.
Their request to the Town Council to install closed-circuit television cameras for protection was rejected by HDB as this was only allowed if the harassment was made by loan sharks.
“This is really ridiculous as this neighbour to us is literally a killer – plant killer nevertheless. How can we feel safe when we have a plant killer with supposedly acid in her hands living next to us?” she asked.
“This is already going against the principles of CDRA (Community Disputes Resolution Act). Must we wait until the acid reaches our body or face, then we can do something about this nuisance neighbour?”
Ms Elsie raised other issues, such as the neighbour burning incense on a daily basis.
“The incense’s smell is so awful that we have to close off all of our windows and door to prevent inhaling the nasty smell. She, on the other hand, of course, went out after lighting the super long incense; thus, she is not deeply affected.”
The suffocating smell has forced the family to close their doors and windows, making them uncomfortable in Singapore’s humid weather.
After reporting the latest discovery, the family was given two choices by the community police, whether to try CMC again or file a complaint to the Magistrate Court.
“We had already filed a Magistrate complaint on April 9 as we can no longer tolerate such nonsense acts. Currently pending for follow-ups from the Magistrate Court,” said Ms Elsie.
UPDATE: April 22, 2022
An update on this incident was posted on Stomp with the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council responding to the neighbourly dispute:
Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council confirmed that it had received calls from Elsie on the specific application of a surveillance camera (CCTV).
A spokesman said: “She has also provided feedback on the insistent harm caused by her immediate neighbour on her plants. Our property team has advised her on the adequate process for the installation of CCTV as well as possible solutions as proposed by the police.”
/TISG
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