Punggol residents bemoan elderly neighbour allegedly cursing with incense sticks & banging walls daily for about 7 years

For several years, residents of 327B Sumang Walk have been plagued by sounds of wall banging, furniture dragging, and cursing nearly every day.

These sounds all came from a woman in her sixties, living on the 18th floor, a neighbour told Shin Min Daily News.

According to the neighbour, surnamed Lee (transliteration), the woman was among the first batch of residents who moved into the HDB block, whose tenure started in 2018.

She has allegedly been disrupting the lives and peace of her neighbours for about seven years.

Several of the units who live near the woman have reported her to the police three times over the past year.

Cursing with incense sticks

Another neighbour, surnamed Chen (transliteration), told Shin Min that the elderly woman would curse while worshipping every morning and night, to the confusion of the other residents.

She would stand at her doorway uttering curses, such as "infamy for all eternity", while holding burning incense sticks.

This behaviour continued even during the recent Lunar New Year period.

Besides the cursing and the noise, the woman would also often pour water out of her window, according to the neighbours.

Lee said that a lot of water would flow down her wall, wetting the clothes she had drying outside.

Lee now no longer dares to hang her clothes to dry outside.

When Shin Min reporters visited the elderly woman's house on the night of Feb. 20, the door was slightly open, and they could hear loud music playing inside.

No one answered the door when they knocked, but the music suddenly stopped after a while.

Neighbours have trouble sleeping

At least four neighbouring units told Shin Min their daily lives have been affected by the noise.

Some have had trouble sleeping — Chen said that although he is a deep sleeper, he would often still be woken up by the noise.

It has caused Lee to be late to work because she was unable to get a good rest at night.

"We have not been able to sleep well for years," Lee said. "She is driving us crazy."

Another resident said that even though she stays two floors away from the elderly woman, she has still been able to hear the banging on the walls as the sound would echo.

Most recently on Feb. 21, the banging could be heard at 2am, 3am, and 4am, according to recordings shared by this resident.

Attempts to resolve the problem

The residents have sought help from the authorities to mediate the situation, but things have not changed.

The elderly woman has refused to open the door to neighbours and the police, according to Shin Min.

Lee shared that she has confronted the woman before, but the woman denied causing the disturbance, saying that the noise and water had nothing to do with her.

Chen said he had got into an argument with her, and called her unreasonable.

Another resident added that the disruption has intensified lately, and hoped that the authorities can step in to resolve the problem.

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