A Woodlands resident says a five-year dispute with his downstairs neighbour has led to continual noise complaints, thousands paid in renovation fees, curry thrown at his door, and even photos of his son being publicly displayed.
The man, who declined to be named, moved into a 13th-floor unit at Block 418 Woodlands Street 41 in March 2020.
He said the complications began soon after when his 12th-floor neighbour, a woman he refers to as “Aunty”, began harassing his family.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the man said his neighbour initially complained about the noise of furniture being dragged and blamed his family for water leakages in her toilet.
In an effort to appease his neighbour, he spent $3,000 to install cork flooring and carpets in his unit to reduce the noise.
He also sought advice from the Housing and Development Board (HDB), as well as renovation contractors, about the alleged leakages.
Despite his efforts, the 12th-floor neighbour continued to lodge noise complaints, refusing to communicate with him.
Instead, she began putting up large, handwritten posters at the lift lobby to express her dissatisfaction.
The man added that she would also deliberately make noise in her apartment to retaliate: “She bangs on the ceiling from morning to night, like she doesn’t need rest. The volume is as loud as the construction site nearby.”
Photos put up from void deck to MRT
Recently, the man sent his son downstairs in an attempt to resolve the conflict with the neighbour.
However, she recorded his son with a home CCTV camera.
The family then discovered that their son’s photo had been printed and posted along the HDB block, covering nearby commercial areas, pedestrian overpasses, and even at the MRT station – a route spanning about one kilometre.
The man showed the photo trail to a Shin Min reporter, noting that the images were printed in colour and had been trimmed and taped up.
He said that even after removing the photos, new ones would appear.
“If she has any dissatisfaction with us, she should seek professional help. We don’t want this to spiral out of control,” he said.
12th-floor neighbour’s daughter admits posting photos
In response to queries from Shin Min, the 12th-floor neighbour’s daughter, Cailyn, 31, who works in F&B, admitted in a text message that she and her siblings were responsible for posting the photos – not their mother.
She said this was in retaliation after the 13th-floor neighbour damaged their CCTV camera.
Cailyn also said their family had been wrongly accused by other residents on the 11th floor of making noise, throwing eggs, spraying insecticide, and even splashing curry – but that no evidence was ever provided, and the accusations were untrue.
She accused their neighbour living upstairs of frequently smoking by the window, causing smoke and cooking fumes to drift into their unit and soil their laundry.
Her father, she said, developed a persistent cough because of it and used air freshener to mitigate the bad smell.
“I politely asked the neighbour to smoke indoors instead of at the window, but he denied smoking at all,” she added.
False accusations, say 12th floor residents
Cailyn asserted that the noise complaints made by 11th-floor residents were likely due to activities on the 13th floor – not her mother’s unit on the 12th – and that her family had been wrongly blamed.
She also alleged that in the confrontation with the 13th-floor neighbour’s son, he had forced their door open in an aggressive manner, damaging the lock.
The act was caught on camera, but they chose not to demand compensation or escalate the matter further.
“We admit to posting the photos, but it wasn’t done by my mother. It was a direct response to him damaging our CCTV,” she said.
Cailyn further claimed that her mother had been continuously harassed, threatened, and bullied, especially when home alone, for almost five years.
“My family has always tried to maintain peace and mutual respect. We hope for the same from our neighbours and want the false accusations to stop,” she added.
Other neighbours speak out
A resident on the 11th floor also said that he had endured sleepless nights because of the 12th floor resident.
63-year-old James (transliterated), told Shin Min that she frequently banged on the floor at night and poured water from her balcony.
He lodged over 20 police reports and brought the matter to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal.
However, these reports failed to provide a lasting resolution to the issue, leaving him both physically and mentally exhausted.
Recently, James went upstairs to bang on her door, adjust her CCTV, and scatter incense ash near her unit.
He claimed the woman’s family later retaliated by damaging his CCTV camera, resulting in a visit from the police.
Police told Shin Min Daily News that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Curry thrown in corridor, drinks spilled in lift lobby
The 13th-floor resident also alleged that during a heated conflict between James and the 12th-floor resident, Milo had been dumped at the lift lobby, making it look as if loan sharks had been harassing residents.
He also recalled incidents before installing his CCTV camera where someone threw curry at his window and left apples at his doorstep, attracting insects.
After the camera was installed, the mischief shifted to the corridor, where he said curry and drinks were thrown near the lift area.
From noise complaints to posting photos: The five-year dispute between Woodlands neighbours
