Happy to call my end of Geylang home

Over the past two weeks, Geylang has been portrayed as a lawless and dangerous place by the media ("Streetwalkers, cops in Geylang play hide-and-seek", last Sunday; and "Step up safety in Geylang, say MPs, grassroots leaders" and "An undercurrent of fear in Geylang", both published on March 30).

My family has been living in a condominium in Lorong 42 Geylang, which is right at the end of Geylang Road, for more than 10years.

I have never felt fear walking home or to the nearby coffee shops alone, even late at night.

I agree with Mr John Lui's view that upset home owners in Geylang would have known about the reputation of the neighbourhood before making their property purchases. So why are they complaining now?

We, as well as our neighbours, bought our units with our eyes open.

We are very happy with the proximity to the MRT station, famous eating places, and the new commercial buildings and shopping mall coming up around us.

We knew we made the right choice.

The portrayal of Geylang as a low-class area is unfair to those of us living at the "other end".

Already, well-meaning friends and relatives of mine have been calling and messaging me because they fear for my safety.

I hope the media can exercise more discretion when coming up with such reports.

This article was published on April 13 in The Straits Times.

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