Tenant & landlady of Marsiling HDB flat get into scuffle over refusal to return S$600 deposit

A Malaysian tenant has accused her landlady of mocking and attacking her over a dispute regarding a withheld deposit.

Two months

The tenant, identified as a 31-year-old woman surnamed Chen (transliteration from Chinese) by Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min), claimed the dispute arose over things like cooking habits.

Chen had moved into the unit in Block 13 Marsiling Lane less than two months prior, at the end of October 2024.

Chen and the landlady apparently agreed on a rental rate of  S$580 a month but had done so without signing a contract.

She was originally quoted a sum of S$600 a month but had managed to negotiate the sum down.

However, she still provided S$600 as a deposit for what was meant to be a one-year tenancy.

Chen also told Shin Min her agreement with the landlady was that she would be allowed to use the kitchen to cook.

However, it appears that this would be the eventual source of the dispute between the pair, with Chen accusing the landlady of complaining and glaring at her every time she used the kitchen stove.

Chen would cook lunch four or five times a week.

The landlady would eventually accuse her of cooking too often, and hogging the kitchen.

Do you really need S$600

After almost two months of growing tension, things came to a head when Chen asked the landlady about a bag of green vegetables that had gone missing.

Chen believed that her landlady’s daughter had “accidentally” used the vegetables, and asked her landlady about it, resulting in an argument.

The landlady reportedly retorted that Chen could not even afford a bag of vegetables, which angered Chen.

Chen decided to end the tenancy after that, asking for her rent to be refunded, and for the return of the S$600 deposit.

But her landlady didn’t take kindly to the request.

The pair began to argue, and the landlady reportedly suggested that Chen stay until the end of January, using the deposit to cover that month's rent, to which Chen replied “Do you really need the S$600?”

This caused her landlady to be angered, resulting in an altercation.

Shin Min spoke to Chen's landlady, who confirmed aspects of the story, agreeing that Chen's vegetables had been taken by her daughter, but that it had simply been a mistake.

The landlady said that she had made an exception for Chen to cook in her kitchen, implying that she usually did not allow tenants to do so.

But she also remarked that she found that Chen used the kitchen too frequently, and was unhappy with the situation, saying that Chen "occupied the kitchen" every day and used "a lot of water and electricity".

Recorded altercation

Chen recorded the incident, and the video showed her landlady demanding that she move out immediately.

She accused the landlady, a middle-aged woman, of pushing and beating her during the argument, and had numerous bruises and a scratch to show for it.

Chen claimed her landlady had hit her “quite hard”, grabbing her hair, pushing her to the ground, and hitting her on the head; and that she sought medical attention afterwards.

Chen has since moved out of the flat but has not yet been returned her deposit.

Meanwhile, Shin Min reported that the police confirmed a report had been made about the incident.

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Top image via Shin Min