Fed up with the constant noise made by her neighbour living upstairs, an elderly woman in Singapore took matters into her own hands by making her own form of noise pollution as “revenge”.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the unit is located at Block 186 Boon Lay Avenue, where the woman had endured endless noise for several years.
Lots of noise
Speaking to the Chinese daily, the 62-year-old woman, who declined to be identified, said the unit upstairs had seen multiple tenants moving in and out since 2020.
She added the noise commonly made in the middle of the night were the dragging of luggage and sounds of footsteps.
Currently, the unit is being occupied by a Malaysian couple and their child, who kept the woman awake with the sounds of tiles grinding, flushing noises and heavy objects falling.
“This estate is over 50 years old. The noise insulation isn’t great initially, and noise can easily be heard. Especially when they return home from work, from 7pm to 1am at night.
“I don’t sleep well at night, which has affected my mental state. It’s difficult,” she said.
Retaliation
Annoyed by the noise pollution, the woman decided to give her neighbours a taste of their own medicine by purchasing a screaming rubber chicken, broomstick, and pots and pans.
She explained every time her neighbours made noise, she would create her own noise with the rubber chicken, pots and pans.
“They make noise, I hit back,” she quipped.
Failed mediation
The woman said she had contacted police several times and previously wrote to the authorities to resolve the issue, with one instance seeing her call the police three times in a week.
In a written reply to the woman, HDB said many complaints were lodged since 2020 and that it had written to both parties and arranged for mediation.
The letter also stated that the complainant declined further mediation and stressed that noise and smells are not in violation of rental terms.
Although HDB recommended the woman to seek help from the Community Mediation Centre, she doesn’t plan on doing so.
RM630 ‘mental health fee’
The woman said although the unit upstairs is rented out, she believes the landlord is obliged to keep tenants in check.
She added the landlord is overseas most of the time and she rarely had the chance to meet the latter.
Somewhere in mid-2024, the landlord paid the woman a visit in order to settle the issue, where a S$200 (approx. RM630) “mental health fee” was offered, along with an explanation that they relied on rental for income.
The landlord also offered an additional S$100 if the number of tenants were to increase in the future.
However, the woman refused to accept the money, calling it “hush money” to prevent her from making complaints about the noise.
Neighbours had no issues
A reporter from Shin Min went to the unit upstairs and saw that the lights were off and no noise was emitting from it.
When asked about the noise issue, a nearby resident said the current tenant moved in two years ago and that they didn’t hear any noise from the unit.
“They usually leave the house early in the morning and only return late in the evening. There hasn’t been much noise in between.
“In the past, I saw the police making a call, and they had also asked me about noise issues.”
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