UPDATE (16 Nov): Sembawang Town Council said the pork and potted plants have been removed this morning. Full update here.
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More than 80% of Singaporeans live in HDB flats, and living in close quarters with other people can be difficult, as whatever your neighbours do affects you.
It’s made more challenging when your neighbours do things that frankly, just make you question whether everything’s alright up there.
One netizen said that her parents’ neighbour in Sembawang has placed a raw piece of pork on the handrail outside his unit, and it’s unclear why.
She also says he puts potted plants in the middle of the corridor, blocking the way.
In a post to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Sunday (15 Nov), the netizen said her parents’ neighbour is a middle-aged Chinese man who lives alone.
She also complained that he’s “unhygienic and inconsiderate”.
How so? Well, for one thing, he placed a raw piece of pork on the handrail outside his unit.
Yes, the same handrail that’s meant for people to put their hands on.
The handrail is actually intended as grab bars for the elderly, so by putting stuff there, he’s causing inconvenience to these seniors.
What’s worse is that the piece of pork wasn’t there just for a short while, and gone in a jiffy.
She claimed that it’s been there since Thursday (12 Nov), up till this very day.
That means it’s spent many days and nights chilling outside, with a nice view of the nearby blocks.
And of course, enthralling any resident or visitor “lucky” enough to walk past this avant-garde artwork.
In the meantime, it’s been dripping blood and oil, possibly down into the unit below.
The netizen also shared that the neighbour owns a few potted plants, which he displays on his corridor.
Sounds like normal behaviour? Well what’s not so normal is where he chooses to display his green beauties — in the middle of the corridor.
Again, it’s not too evident why he chooses to do this.
What is we do know, however, is that the corridor is a public walkway, and should be clear of obstructions like potted plants.
That’s because in the event of a fire, residents will need to escape quickly.
Obstructing walkways and staircase landings will hamper escape, and worse, cause the fire to spread if they’re flammable.
While the OP didn’t identify the exact location of her parents’ place, a netizen said it’s Block 478 Sembawang Drive.
From the colour and design of the blocks, it does indeed seem like the block is located in that estate.
Another netizen said that perhaps the neighbour is trying to make char siew like they did in the olden days.
We don’t think people in the olden days left char siew in the open for 4 days though?
According to a spokesperson from Sembawang Town Council, the pork and potted plants have already been removed on 16 Nov morning when staff arrived at the scene.
Here’s the rest of their statement in full:
The resident was apologetic, and assured us that this won’t happen again.
Our cleaners have also cleaned and sanitised the handrail for the other residents’ peace of mind when using it.
We will continue to monitor the situation, and will take appropriate action when necessary.
If the netizen’s claims are true, her parents’ neighbour’s actions are a nuisance and a hazard.
Residents may not appreciate the sight and smell of raw pork out in the open like this — especially if they’re Muslim.
And as the netizen’s parents are elderly, they and other senior citizens might be endangered by potted plants blocking the corridor.
Let’s be more considerate to our neighbours, and high-density Singapore will be a more pleasant place to live in.
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Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
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