A woman refused to pay the Nee Soon Town Council (NSTC) the Service & Conservancy charges for months because she believed that the town council did not provide adequate or fair service to her regarding a dispute she had with her neighbour.

Chan Geok Eng was found guilty of failing to pay the outstanding Service & Conservancy charges for the months of March 2017 to July 2018, which amounted to S$565.50.

NSTC manages over 65,000 residential units in addition to commercial units in Yishun.

The amount that Chan owed the town council to-date computed to a whopping S$3,040.70. The amount was not disputed by Chan during the trial.

The judgement was dated on Mar. 11, 2024.

Dispute with her neighbour for the past seven years

Chan had been in a dispute with her neighbour for the past seven years.

Chan grew unhappy with her neighbour, who moved into the adjacent corner unit in 2017, for placing their shoes and potted plants in front of her house.

She said the housing unit next to hers had changed five times beforehand, and that the current neighbour was unlike the other neighbours she had before.

Chan claimed the neighbours threw dirty tissue paper into her unit when she complained about this to the town council.

Called the police and complained to minister

Chan called the police after she perceived that the town council failed to take feasible action. The police did not take any action.

She also got upset when she heard grassroots committee members speaking to her neighbour, as she did not know why they were getting involved in the problem.

Chan said the neighbour became more disrespectful after the talk with the grassroots members as it appeared they supported his actions.

She then proceeded to complain to then-Minister for National Development (MND) Lawrence Wong. He wrote back to inform her that because it was a town council issue, he was unable to assist her.

Chan claimed her neighbours started deliberately placing their bicycles in the stairwell which she passes often when she takes the stairs. She said that the bicycles blocked her way. She also claimed that her neighbours urinate in that stairwell.

Chan made harassment claims against her neighbour, insisting that they played mahjong every weekend until 2 or 3am and made a lot of noise, and dirtied the common corridor with their shoes and potted plants.

She also said the neighbour was breeding mosquitos, which was not detected by the National Environment Agency when they inspected the neighbour's potted plants.

Considering all of these perceived grievances, Chan felt justified in not paying the conservancy and service fees to the town council.

She said that the town council had to bear the responsibility of removing the shoes and potted plants belonging to her neighbours.

The town council, according to Chan, also "did nothing" to stop the harassment and littering by the neighbour.

In response, assistant general manager Eddie Ng who works for the company that manages the town council said they had inspected the items outside the corridor after receiving Chan's complaint and found that there was a safety allowance of at least 1.2 metres, which complied with the Fire Safety Act.

As such, they did not forcibly remove any of the items. Further, the town council told Chan that the common corridor is a community space that is to be shared between neighbours.

Mothership understands the debt owed has grown to S$3040.70.

NSTC: Bought resident to court as a "last resort"

Replying to Mothership's enquiries, Nee Soon Town Council said in a statement, "This case was not undertaken lightly, and was brought to court as a last resort."

They said NSTC had communicated with the resident regarding her outstanding S&C charges eight times within the span of two years.

NSTC also said they tried to help Chan find solutions to her outstanding S&C charges to no avail. They even offered her an instalment plan which would have helped lessen the impact of a lump sum payment.

Stressing the importance of S&C payments, the town council said:

"When residents withhold S&C payments, it affects the town council's ability to maintain and upkeep shared spaces, which includes lift maintenance, conservancy, horticultural maintenance and lighting in common spaces. These are essential for the safety and security for all residents."

Top photo credit: Tom, for illustrative purposes only.