Woman, 62, in Boon Lay loses sleep due to noise from neighbour upstairs, hits back with screaming rubber chicken & pots

After supposedly being subjected to late-night noise emanating from the unit above for years, a 62-year-old resident at Block 186 Boon Lay Avenue took matters into her own hands, hitting back with metal pots and a screaming rubber chicken.

Noise in the middle of the night

According to Shin Min Daily News, the 62-year-old female resident complained that the unit upstairs has seen regular changes in tenants since 2020.

During those years, noise, such as the dragging of luggage in the middle of the night and sounds of footsteps, would emanate from the unit.

The resident revealed that the current tenants are a Malaysian couple with a young child.

"This estate is over 50 years old. The noise insulation isn't great initially, and noise can easily be heard. Especially when they return home from work, from 7pm to 1am at night," she said.

The resident claimed that the most frequent noises heard are the sounds of tiles grinding, flushing noises and heavy objects falling.

The noises would wake her from her sleep.

"I don't sleep well at night, which has affected my mental state. It's difficult," the female resident said.

Screaming rubber chicken

As things did not improve over time, the female resident has taken matters into her own hands and adopted a retributive approach.

According to Shin Min, she had specially purchased a rubber screaming chicken, a broomstick, as well as pots and pans.

As long as she hears noise from above, she would hit back by generating her own noise.

"They make noise, I hit back," she commented.

Mediation did not work

The resident had written to the authorities and had also called the police multiple times.

On one occasion, she called the police three times in a week.

HDB has replied to her, saying it has received many complaints since 2020, and also indicated that it had written to both parties and arranged for mediation, Shin Min wrote.

HDB also mentioned in the letter that the complainant had not accepted further mediation.

The housing authority also reiterated that noise and smells do not constitute a breach of rental terms.

HDB recommended the resident seek assistance from the Community Mediation Centre.

The 62-year-old said she would not be doing so, Shin Min wrote.

Landlord tried giving S$200

Although the unit above is rented out, the 62-year-old feels that the landlord should be responsible and help rein in the tenants.

According to the resident, the landlord is overseas most of the time, and they rarely cross paths.

Sometime in mid-2024, the landlord had paid her a visit in hopes of settling the issue, the 62-year-old said.

She claimed that the landlord offered her S$200 in "mental health fees" and explained that they relied on rental for income.

The landlord also said that they could give her another S$100, bringing the total to S$300, if the number of tenants goes up in the future.

However, the resident said she decided against accepting the money. "Accepting it will be like accepting hush money, and I won't be able to make complaints about the noise issue anymore."

Neighbouring resident did not hear noises

When Shin Min visited the upstairs unit, the lights were off and there was no noise coming from it.

A nearby resident told the Chinese-language paper that the unit is rented out to young people and they did not hear noise coming from it.

According to this resident, the current tenant moved in about two years ago.

They typically leave the house early in the morning and only return late in the evening.

In between, there isn't much noise.

"Previously, I've seen the police making a call, and they had also asked me about noise issues," the nearby resident said.