War over walkway

A privatised HUDC estate's unilateral decision to demolish a walkway that served as a shortcut for residents of Thomson Garden has sparked outrage from residents and frustration from their MP.

The 20m walkway had been used as a shortcut for nearly 50 years by Thomson Garden residents, who now have to walk more than 500m on an alternative route to get to Shunfu market.

In a vote, 328 out of 336 Shunfu Ville households decided to demolish the walkway at an extraordinary general meeting on Nov 16. Shunfu Ville was formerly a Housing and Urban Development Company estate.

The Member of Parliament (MP) of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Mrs Josephine Teo, told The New Paper that the demolition of the walkway threw a spanner in the works in her attempts to broker peace between the two estates.

Said Mrs Teo: "It is a shame that the footpath, which had been used by so many people over the years, has to be taken away like that."

In fact, lawyers TNP spoke to said that residents may have a legal right of access.

When asked whether this was an example of bad neighbourliness, the MP said: "It should not be difficult at all for Shunfu Ville to keep the footpath open for Thomson Garden residents."

Thomson Garden neighbourhood committee (NC), supported by Mrs Teo, submitted three proposals at three separate times to Shunfu Ville's management, but failed to receive any reply.

Said NC chairman Eugene Lee: "We've been pursuing this for the last three years, we tried to do this for our residents but it did not materialise."

He said that the lack of communication was "disappointing".

When approached by TNP, Shunfu Ville's management committee, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST), declined to comment.

LIABILITY

TNP understands that the proposals submitted by the NC failed to deal with the MCST's biggest concern about liability.

A Shunfu Ville resident, who has lived there for around 20 years, said: "(The Thomson Garden residents) claim they are all elderly folk. But what if they slip and fall on the walkway? It is our property, they could sue us for that."

In response, a 67-year-old Thomson Garden resident, who wanted to be known only by his surname Lee, said: "If they're so concerned about our safety, then why don't they consider the poor elderly resident who might faint from the additional 20 minutes he has to walk now?"

Other residents, some of whom had lived in Thomson Garden since it was first built in the 1960s, have been vocal about the issue.

Said retiree Albert Ong, 76, who created a blog to document the issue: "By destroying the walkway, they are challenging us to see what we can possibly do next."

What does law say?

Do Thomson Garden residents have a right to use the walkway?

Yes they do, according to lawyers TNP spoke to.

These rights of way, known as easements, enable property owners to walk across another's property in order to get to their own.

Said corporate lawyer Robson Lee of Shook Lin & Bok: "Easement is the right of way, right of access and right of use of someone else's property."

In the case of the walkway between Thomson Garden and Shunfu Ville, Mr Lee said that there must be a mutual agreement between the two estates before one can remove the walkway.

"Even though the path runs through a private property owned by someone else, both must agree to an alternative solution before they can take that path away," said Mr Lee.

CAVEAT

He added that this is because the land titles come with a caveat.

That means that ownership of the land comes attached with certain conditions, including providing access to someone else who has an easement right.

If these rights are infringed upon, a person can "enforce his rights" in court, Mr Lee said.

But lawyer Luke Lee of Luke Lee & Co. said that while the principle of easement exists in Singapore laws, it depends on several factors.

Said Mr Lee: "Not everyone can claim to have easement rights. Certain rights can only accrue to certain people."

He said that people who have used the pathway for a long time can be considered to have easement rights, but the same might not be said for a person using the pathway for the first time.

One example of easement is Jalan Mas Puteh. The road in front of terraced homes in the cul-de-sac is owned by a private firm. But the home owners have the right to use the road to gain entry to their homes due to their easement right.

Timeline of events

April 2008: Shunfu Ville gets the requisite 75 per cent or more votes supporting privatisation from its 358 units.

August 2008: HDB approves the privatisation.

October 2010: HDB clarifies to Shunfu Ville's privatisation committee that the walkway is within their boundaries.

March 2011: Discussions are led by MP Hri Kumar Nair to preserve the walkway. Shunfu Ville residents say this delays their privatisation efforts.

April 2013: The walkway is gated and locked up. Fencing is also put up around Shunfu Ville.

May 2013: Thomson Garden residents send a petition, carrying 154 signatures, to President Tony Tan, highlighting the walkway issue.

December 2013: Work to demolish the walkway begins.

tnp@sph.com.sg

Get The New Paper for more stories.