M'sian couple accuse Hougang landlord of chasing them out after 1 day, wanting to confiscate deposit

Videos of the forced eviction and argument were recorded as they unfolded.

Jean Chien Tay | February 05, 2022, 04:44 PM

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A Malaysian woman and her boyfriend were allegedly told by their landlord to move out immediately just a few hours after moving into a rental room in Hougang.

The couple had just moved into a unit at Block 620 in Hougang Avenue 8 on the night of Jan. 25, and were purportedly evicted the next day afternoon on Jan. 26.

Landlord initially refused to return rent and deposit

Based on the exchanges heard on the video recordings of their argument, the landlord initially refused to return the S$800 that the couple had paid for the room, which included a S$550 deposit.

The woman appeared to be crying during the argument with the landlord, a bespectacled elderly man.

Subsequently, the landlord returned S$700 to the woman after her godmother and her sister arrived at the unit and intervened.

The tenant's post on Facebook has been shared more than 10,000 times, with many commenters saying the landlord was trying to take advantage of the tenants.

Landlord allegedly entered room and moved belongings without permission

According to the woman, she first received text messages at 5pm on Jan. 26 from her boyfriend and a friend who introduced the couple to the unit.

The text messages said the landlord wanted to throw her and her boyfriend's belongings away.

The woman's boyfriend also claimed that he received a call from the landlord while he was at work.

The landlord purportedly told him he would throw the couple's belongings away if they didn't move out by the end of the day.

The woman's boyfriend then said he tried to negotiate for a few days grace for them to move out, but the landlord refused to budge.

When the woman returned to the unit at 5.30pm, she claimed that her belongings were moved out of her room without her permission.

She then confronted the landlord about it, but he refuted that he was allowed to enter her room, adding that he would face the death penalty if the tenants had drugs in their possession.

Landlord purportedly insinuated couple possessed drugs

According to the woman, the landlord insinuated multiple times that she was in possession of drugs.

Her boyfriend later called the police after learning that the landlord allegedly accused them of drug possession and touched their belongings without permission.

Subsequently, the police arrived at the scene and warned the landlord not to make baseless accusations about drug possession.

Thereafter, the couple returned to their previous residence to spend the night there.

The woman said she wanted to share her experience on Facebook to prevent others from being "scammed", and encouraged people to share her post.

At the time of writing, it is unclear what caused the landlord to ask the couple to move out in the first place.

According to the police, the parties involved in the incident were advised of their legal recourse.

"No further police assistance was required," the police added.

Top image via Google Streetview & 蔡怡/Facebook

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