Tit for tat? Bukit Panjang residents splash urine, soy sauce and paint in dispute over shoe rack

This two-year long neighbourly dispute has seen a heated back-and-forth exchange involving various fluids such as urine, soy sauce and paint.

The neighbourly relationship between two families living at Block 137 Petir Road in Bukit Panjang turned sour in 2021 when they got embroiled in a dispute over a shoe rack, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Ida, who lives at the corner unit, told the Chinese evening daily that her family had placed the shoe rack at the corridor outside their house and under her neighbour's living room window, which upset the elderly woman living next door.

The elderly woman then reportedly began harassing them by using a mop to wipe her windows, causing dirty water to drip on the rack. She also reportedly poured urine into some 10 pairs of shoes, damaging them.

In multiple instances since 2022, the elderly woman used a water gun to spray soy sauce on their clothes and blocked their doorway with items they had placed along the common corridor, Ida said.

"When our home was undergoing renovation in May, the auntie entered our house and threw our shoes into the living room. The following month, she splashed white paint on our front door," she complained.

Ida explained that she was initially reluctant to move the shoe rack as it was a gift from her late father-in-law. 

However, the offending shoe rack was later thrown away and replaced with a lower shoe rack, but the elderly woman persisted in her actions even after the rack was eventually moved away from the window entirely two months ago, she said.

Ida also revealed that she has been under great mental pressure since the elderly woman started harassing her family, and was diagnosed with moderate depression and prescribed medication one year ago.

She has reportedly called the police and lodged reports on the woman more than 20 times as well. The warring neighours also attended a court mediation throughout the two-year long dispute.

Despite her doing so, the elderly woman is reportedly still harassing the family, and recently poured dirty water into their shoes on Sept 26.

'Returning the favour': Neighbour

While the elderly woman, surnamed Wang, admitted to her neighbour's accusations, she told Shin Min that Ida's family had triggered the feud.

"They shouldn't have put a tall shoe rack under my window, and they also threw dog faeces into my house through the window and scribbled graffiti on my window two years ago," said Wang. 

"This year, they opened my window without permission and sprayed white paint into my house." 

Wang claimed that she was only "returning the favour" after Ida's family sprayed soy sauce on her drying clothes and white paint on the clothes drying rack. 

Regarding Ida's accusation of her trespassing, she said: "I broke into her house because they deliberately threw one of my shoes and I wanted to confront them." 

According to Shin Min, the police confirmed that reports were made. 

ALSO READ: Glass shards along HDB corridor: Redhill resident accuses neighbour of deterring her kids from playing there

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

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