Family living in corner of residential unit faces ongoing harassment and disruption by neighbour’s unruly behaviour

SINGAPORE – In a troubling story of neighborhood conflict, a family living in a corner apartment at Block 221A Sumang Lane in Punggol is facing continuous disturbances and harassment from their next-door neighbor.

Jen, a Stomp contributor, shared her story on the Singaporean media platform, Stomp.

Their predicament revolves around the common area adjoining their unit, which has been turned into a chaotic space filled with various items by their neighbour.

“Many pots of plants, dangerous sharp objects, bicycles, and falling shelves were placed in front of our unit and also blocking the pathway,” revealed Jen.

Common area turned into a chaotic space filled with various items by their neighbour. (Photo: Stomp)

Jen and her family, who sought to live peacefully in their home, now feel trapped in a situation they describe as increasingly untenable.

“We tried talking to our neighbour regarding the concerns, which ended up with him asking us to make a complaint to the authorities, believing that no one can enforce anything.” she said.

The neighbour’s erratic behaviour further escalated the tensions.

“Almost every day, he drinks, shouts, and slams his door, cursing us,” recounted Jen.

Jen recalled during August 18, their CCTV captured the neighbor, standing outside their gate, brazenly declared, “Call the police lah. My area – I put my plants,” followed by profanities.

CCTV shot of unruly neighbour shouting profanities on Aug 18, and on Aug 28, peeing in the corner. (Photo: Stomp)

Jen and her family have been grappling with this situation since April 2022.

The neighbour behaved inappropriately by making odd comments about himself and his spouse, touching Jen and her husband during conversations, and insisting that Jen’s two-year-old son call him ‘grandpa.’

Their refusal to engage with him further exacerbated the situation, leading to outbursts of rage and shouting whenever their child cried.

“He always comes knocking at our door and requesting to come in our house many times. We did not acknowledge this so we tried to avoid him as much as possible. Due to our avoidance, he started acting crazy and shouting at us when our son cried,” Jen explained.

In one disturbing incident in December, the neighbour threatened to involve the police when Jen and her husband stopped their son from running to him after he shouted the child’s name.

“Later in February, he took some items that we temporarily placed outside our door to clear the ants in our unit. We approached him in a nice way to retrieve our items, but he said that everything in the common area belonged to everyone.”

“He started shouting and asking us for a fight till we had to call the police.”

The situation took a repugnant turn on August 28 at 10.43 am when the neighbour was captured on camera urinating outside Jen’s home.

The footage revealed him leaving his unit, urinating in the common corridor, and attempting to wash away the urine with water, all while making cryptic references to calling the police.

Despite their efforts to seek help, a letter from the police stated that they would not be pursuing charges against the neighbour for dishonest misappropriation of property.

This decision left Jen and her family feeling unsupported by the authorities, compounding their distress.

Their plight extended to the town council, as they reported the situation but received no resolution.

Jen and her family are still dealing with their difficult living situation, holding onto hope that their requests for help won’t be ignored and that they can find a solution to this troubling dispute with their neighbor.