An 85-year-old woman residing in Block 119, Bukit Merah View, has denied using firewood to cook dumplings in her flat after neighbours complained of the smell, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

In response to her neighbours, the elderly woman said that she had not made any dumplings as she is unable to sell them at the moment.

She also denied the allegations of smoke in her house, adding that the smell was due to other households burning joss paper.

What did her neighbour say?

Speaking to the Chinese paper, her neighbour, surnamed Zhang, said that for the past 12 years or so, the woman's house would emit thick smoke during the period of the Dragon Boat Festival, resulting in the corridor being filled with the smell of smoke.

In addition, the dumplings were supposedly left to simmer for over five hours.

Zhang also said that he when he went to check the situation, he believed that she had used firewood to cook her dumplings.

He described the situation as such:

"It is really intolerable, the smell of smoke that drifts into the house is suffocating. But if I close the window, it becomes stuffy."

Potential fire hazard

The firewood has also sparked concerns about fire safety.

Zhang further claimed that the woman is often alone by herself at home.

As such, should a fire break out when her neighbours are not around, they will not be able to help her, he said.

He was echoed by another neighbour, surnamed Xie, who said that the smell of firewood had made him think that a fire had broken out nearby.

However, Xie also pointed out that the smoke had not been as thick recently due to a supposed drop in orders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Woman has refused to listen to her children

However, Xie said that the woman's children had "explained the situation" to him on multiple occasions. He added that he was familiar with her temperament, as they had been neighbours for over 40 years.

Describing her children as "very polite", he added that the situation was "very helpless" given that she also refused to listen to her own children.

Left image from Pixabay, right screenshot via Google Streetview