Man catches neighbour sabotaging his plants along HDB flat corridor but she claims 'they're wilting because of poor soil quality'

Frustrated that his corridor plants were constantly being destroyed, a Geylang resident installed cameras outside his flat and eventually caught his neighbour in the act.

His neighbour, an elderly woman, has denied the accusations and instead accused the man of using poor-quality soil for his plants.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Lin, 50, who lives at Block 68 Geylang Bahru, said the plants he grows along the corridor had been getting damaged on a regular basis.

Some of them were uprooted, others had their branches broken, and Lin also said that salt water had been poured into the pots, causing the plants to wither and die.

Lin added that he once found residue in the form of crystal grains in one of his flower pots.

"I have been growing a carambola tree for five years. It used to bear a lot of fruits, but has since withered due to the salt water," Lin said.

At first, Lin thought it was a prank, but after some 20 plants had been "sabotaged", he decided to install CCTV cameras to nab the culprit.

When Lin reviewed the footage recently, he saw his neighbour from the same floor plucking out one of his plants and throwing the stalk over the ledge, before taking away another pot.

He said the plant that was plucked out was a tangerine sapling, while the one that was taken away was a touch-me-not sapling.

Lin said he was confused about the woman’s actions, because his family was on good terms with her, and would exchange greetings on a regular basis.

"I didn't want to damage our neighbourly ties, so I have not confronted the other party," he said.

When interviewed by Shin Min, the neighbour in question denied that she had damaged Lin's plants, or poured salt water on them.

She also claimed that her own plants had been tampered with, and scolded Lin's family, saying, "Go and die".

"Their own plants are wilting because of poor soil quality, and it's got nothing to do with me," she said.

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