By Arul John

COULD the stack of junk mail left outside the neighbouring vacant flat make his a target for burglars?

Mr Sunilkumar Singh, 26, thinks so, especially since the two flats are separated from the other third-storey units by a staircase and lift landing.

Since around July, brochures and flyers have been left outside their four-room HDB flats at Ubi Avenue 1.

The systems engineer said this happened after the flyers could no longer be pushed through the slots of the new letter boxes that were installed during a block upgrading programme.

Mr Singh, who lives with his 63-year-old mother, Madam Kirta Devi, said: 'Both our flats are isolated and it can be quiet and unsafe for an elderly person.

'Our neighbour moved out about two years ago and nobody has lived in the flat since.

'The son comes once every month or fortnight to collect the mail and check the flat.'

Mr Singh added: 'Anyone seeing the brochures and flyers outside our neighbour's flat could guess that the flat is vacant, and this makes our flat a target for theft.'

On 21 Oct, Mr Singh's worst fears came true.

He said his sister-in-law and her children had visited his mother that day to help clean the flat for Deepavali.

Stolen

Mr Singh said: 'My mother then left the flat at about 7.10pm to accompany them to the bus-stop.

'I called her at about 7.30pm and told her I would meet her and walk home with her. After dinner and some shopping, we returned home by about 8pm.'

At first, he said he did not notice anything amiss, but he later saw his and his mother's drawers had been opened and things scattered.

He also noticed the sliding window panels were facing the wrong way.

Mr said: 'The culprit entered the flat by prising open the closed sliding window along the common corridor.'

He said his mother found that gold jewellery worth $7,100, $3,000 cash and 20,000 Indian rupees, and some personal documents were missing.

'She was heartbroken and I had to call my sister-in-law to help console her. I later lodged a police report.'

He said the burglar could have observed his mother and their unit for some time after seeing the brochures and flyers outside the neighbour's flat.

Police said they are investigating the case and no arrests have been made so far.

Mr Singh said his mother had been thinking of selling the flat and is now more insistent after the burglary.

He said: 'She wanted me to move to a new place or move in with relatives in Australia. I have tolerated the flyers and stickers being dumped and pasted at my doorsteps for some time but not anymore.'

He called Marine Parade Town Council (MPTC) on 22 Oct to complain about the flyers, and was told an officer would get back to him.

Mr Singh said he also highlighted his problem to a volunteer during a meet-the-people session for MP Ong Seh Hong on 28 Oct.

He said: 'The volunteer said nothing could be done and suggested that I call the companies listed in the flyers and complain to them.'

A town council spokesman said its officers visited Mr Singh on 31 Oct and apologised for the delay in replying to him.

Additional lighting

The spokesman said Mr Singh was told that it could not stop flyers being placed outside the flat as it was a public area.

She said: 'But we told Mr Singh to call the town council if the flyers are still being sent or stickers are pasted outside his home. We will then take up the matter with the companies concerned.'

The spokesman said it has also allowed him to install additional lighting outside the flat for added safety, and will review the lift CCTV camera footage on the day of the burglary to see if any suspects could be identified.

Mr Singh was placated by the council's response, but added: 'I still think there should be laws preventing people from placing flyers and brochures indiscriminately outside people's homes without their permission.'

Police spokesman Ivan Choo said the flyer issue did not come under their purview as it was not a public safety, criminal or law-and-order matter.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Nov 13, 2008.