A video of a man throwing bags of rubbish outside his neighbour’s corridor has gone viral on TikTok, but both parties say the incident is the latest chapter in a months-long dispute marked by complaints, police reports and failed mediation efforts.<\/p>\n
The video, posted by user Kelly Lee @softhearted_kelly on Sunday (Aug 23), shows a man walking across the corridor and tossing bags of rubbish outside her unit before returning to his unit. It has amassed some 500,000 views.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee, 36, has also posted several CCTV clips that she says show her neighbour and his sister allegedly leaving rubbish outside her door.<\/p>\n
Some of the videos also capture confrontations between the neighbours, during which vulgarities were exchanged.<\/p>\n
Her TikTok videos have gone viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of views.<\/p>\n
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Both residents live opposite each other on the 16th floor of a rental flat at 182 Rivervale Crescent.<\/p>\n
How the dispute began<\/h2>\n
Lee told AsiaOne that her neighbour, Alagan, began occasionally throwing rubbish outside her unit on July 25, before it became a daily occurrence in August.<\/p>\n
However, the mother of three acknowledged that she has been embroiled in a dispute with her neighbours for about eight months, since she moved in last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From her perspective, the conflict began when some of Alagan’s items, including a parcel and a pair of slippers, went missing after Lee’s seven-year-old daughter allegedly rode a scooter over to his side of the corridor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Alagan informed the Sengkang Town Council about the incident, her husband was notified and he proceeded to call his neighbour.<\/p>\n
Lee said that her husband apologised for what had happened after Alagan explained the situation and her neighbour seemed to have accepted his apology.<\/p>\n
Everything seemed amicable after the phone call, until Lee noticed that her family was constantly being reported for various matters.<\/p>\n
She shared that her neighbours complained about her two personal mobility aids (PMA) parked outside her house and she complied with the town council’s request to park her PMAs at the void deck below instead.<\/p>\n
She said that she also received other complaints regarding unlicensed cats as well as noise complaints about her children being too noisy and her television being too loud.<\/p>\n
She dismissed the noise complaints when police officers showed up, explaining that her children would not be “jumping around” since two of them are 13 and 18 and that she did not own any television.<\/p>\n
She told the police officers: “I think the person [is] making false statements.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conflicting accounts<\/h2>\n
AsiaOne also spoke to Lee’s neighbour Alagan during a visit to both units in Sengkang on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Alagan, things began souring from the day Lee first moved in.<\/p>\n
Alagan s\/o Jayagayo recounted to AsiaOne that his family was performing a Hindu prayer ritual that day, which involved burning incense sticks. They had closed their doors but he understood that the smoke from the incense sticks could still escape.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old said that Lee and her husband approached his unit that day and scolded him with vulgarities, complaining about how “smelly” it was.<\/p>\n
Lee denied ever complaining about her neighbours’ prayers or the smell of incense.<\/p>\n
Alagan said he decided not to file any complaint about this.<\/p>\n
On the missing item incident, he told AsiaOne that he had been staying in the unit since 2012, but had not experienced any items being misplaced.<\/p>\n
He decided to complain to the town council when he was unable to get a hold of his neighbour despite knocking on their door. After speaking to Lee’s husband, he felt that the matter was “settled”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, he said he later became increasingly frustrated with what he described as five PMAs parked outside Lee’s unit, allegedly extending towards the lift lobby and obstructing access to the communal rubbish chute.<\/p>\n
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Alagan called the town council and they told Lee that she had to park her PMAs at the void deck below.<\/p>\n
He alleged that it became a recurring cycle in which complaints were made, promises were given and the PMAs would eventually return to the common corridor. He also claimed that Lee’s family occasionally charged their PMAs along the corridor.<\/p>\n
He added that he was especially frustrated by his neighbour’s Friday prayer sessions, which he described as noisy and attracting visitors who parked additional PMAs on the floor until late at night.<\/p>\n
When AsiaOne asked Lee about these prayer sessions, Lee acknowledged that her family used to hold weekly Friday prayer sessions and that one gathering lasted until midnight, before a noise complaint was made.<\/p>\n
Alagan also recounted to AsiaOne an incident in May in which he alleged that Lee’s family used racial slurs and vulgarities against him and his family during one of their Hindu prayer sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee denied directing racial slurs at her neighbours. However, she acknowledged that some of her friends had used racial slurs while speaking among themselves near the lift lobby on one occasion. She claimed the remarks were not directed at Alagan or his family.<\/p>\n
\n\n @asiaone<\/a> One party now wants to pursue legal options, while the other says he cannot afford to do so. #sgnews<\/a> #singapore<\/a> #hdb<\/a> #neighbour<\/a> #dispute<\/a> \u266c original sound – AsiaOne<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Failed mediation<\/h2>\n
In June, the Housing Development Board (HDB) invited Lee and Alagan to a mediation session at the Community Mediation Centre at Maxwell.<\/p>\n
During the session, Lee alleged that Alagan did “not say anything” but Alagan countered that one of the mediators kept interrupting him when he attempted to communicate his concerns.<\/p>\n
Lee said she told the mediators that she was frustrated by the constant stream of complaints, especially about the PMAs, which she felt did not obstruct her neighbours’ path.<\/p>\n
Lee said her elderly mother recently underwent knee surgery and is medically eligible for a PMA.<\/p>\n
However, Alagan said the mediators did not allow him to discuss the PMA issue and instead focused on the earlier incident involving his missing parcel.<\/p>\n
The mediation session ended without any agreement being reached.<\/p>\n
Alagan acknowledged that he and his family later began leaving rubbish outside Lee’s unit, saying they did so out of frustration following the repeated disputes.<\/p>\n
Lee said she has since reported the matter to the police, the National Environment Agency and the town council, but claimed no action has been taken.<\/p>\n
No end in sight<\/h2>\n
Alagan said he became aware of Lee’s TikTok videos and confronted her on Monday evening. He was upset that the videos featured his family members and address, including his unit number.<\/p>\n
According to Lee, Alagan allegedly smashed her CCTV cameras and threatened to hit her with a chair.<\/p>\n
Police officers were allegedly called to the scene, but no arrests were made.<\/p>\n
Lee told AsiaOne that she is now looking to pursue this matter legally and will hear back from the courts in about one to two weeks.<\/p>\n
Lee also said she approached her MP for assistance on Monday and received a call from HDB on Friday advising her to apply for a transfer to another flat.<\/p>\n
“I’m happy about it,” Lee said. “I also hope to move out as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n
Alagan said that he cannot afford to take legal action, as he is the sole breadwinner and has to care for his elderly mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AsiaOne has also contacted the Sengkang Town Council for more information on the situation.<\/p>\n
The dispute comes as the Government moves to strengthen measures aimed at resolving neighbour conflicts earlier.<\/p>\n
In a joint press release on Friday (Aug 28), the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Ministry of Law and Ministry of National Development announced that the Mediation Direction framework and Community Relations Unit (CRU) will be expanded nationwide from Sept 1 following a pilot in Tampines.<\/p>\n
Under the framework, HDB and the People’s Association will be authorised to issue mediation directions requiring disputing neighbours to attend mediation at the Community Mediation Centre.<\/p>\n
The ministries added that while agencies can provide support and intervention, “the first and best response to neighbour disputes remains direct communication, mutual understanding, and mediation.”<\/p>\n
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