I’m sure many of us have neutral relationships with our neighbours. While we may have been close to our neighbours in the past, it may not be the case now. Most of us either choose to hide in the recluse of our own homes or just exchange timid hellos and goodbyes as we walk past one another along the corridor.

Others, however, may not even have this chance to exchange such simple greetings. No, their relationship boils down to something deeper, and it’s not good.

For one 29-year-old man by the name of Daniel See, he had enough of his noisy neighbours and took them to court for unreasonably disturbing his peace.

Took them to court? That’s some serious disturbance then.

So What Happened?

It all began in November 2017 when he called the police after seeing his downstairs neighbour, Madam Iwa, hit the staircase railing with a metal rod.

I’m not quite sure why she did that, and I’m sure Mr See didn’t know either. 

He then believed that his neighbour along with her husband Mr Low Bok Siong and their grown children were unhappy that he reported them for being noisy. And thus began his nightmare.

They started making excessive noise to drive him nuts, or so he claims.

According to Mr See, he said that he asked for help from the police, the Housing Development Board (HDB), the town council and even his MP, but none of them was able to do anything to help with his situation. Seeing as to how it was the last resort, he filed a complaint with the tribunal in June 2018.

A Consent Order was issued and there was an agreement between both parties that the Low family would stop making any unnecessary noise like stomping and hammering, but they breached the order.

Leaving him with no choice, Mr See went on to apply for a Special Direction so as to ensure that they comply with the first court order.

They met in June 2019 and after three days of hearing, Tribunal Judge Diana Ho found the Low family to be guilty of making unnecessary and loud noises to disturb Mr See.

Apparently, the family would cram three adults into one master bedroom to sleep, “wrapping their ears/heads with blankets and forcing one adult to sleep in the living room”, just so that loud music can be played in the bedroom right below Mr See’s.

The Exclusion Order

Judge Ho granted Mr See the Exclusion Order after hearing his complaint on 24 December. His neighbours did not attend court. This is the first time that Community Dispute Resolution Tribunal (CDRT) has ever issued an Exclusion Order and ordered a couple to leave their own home.

The order will take effect from today onwards and will last till 6 February.

Sadly, there isn’t much to enforce this order and if the couple chooses not to leave, Mr See would then have to file a Magistrate’s Complaint against them to privately prosecute them for the breach of the Exclusion Order under Section 10(1) of the Community Dispute Resolution Act (CDRA), according to the State Courts website.

If convicted, the accused will be fined up to $5,000 or jailed for up to three months, or both.

In an interview conducted by The Sunday Times with Mr See, he said, “I don’t know if they will comply with the order since there is no one to enforce it. What more can I do if they continue with their nuisance behaviour? I feel an Exclusion Order of one month is too ‘light’ considering the fact that I have suffered for more than two years.”

Other than applying for the Exclusion Order in November, Mr See also separately filed a Magistrate’s Complaint against his neighbours for breaching the Special Direction.

He further adds, “For the Magistrate’s Complaint, the court has directed the police to investigate. Police told me that it can take up to six months to investigate. I have come this far and gone through every single CDRT stage. The CDRA is supposed to resolve this problem. Three court orders have been granted. Yet, nothing has changed. I am still suffering every single day.”

According to The Sunday Times, they went down to the neighbours’ flat on last Saturday night and a man who claimed he was the son of the family said that they maintain their position of not being responsible for the noise. He then shared that they have also engaged a lawyer to respond to the court order.

Welp, I guess I’m lucky to have pretty nice neighbours so far!

Hopefully the situation gets better for Mr See and he doesn’t have to continue enduring excessive noise.

Do you have any bad experiences with your neighbours?