Is it a case of a neighbour from hell or just a longtime misunderstanding?
TikTok user nikaklarahmad claimed, for three years now, she had to deal with her next-door neighbour who would regularly spray insecticide at her flat in Teck Whye, fogging the common corridor.
In a CCTV clip uploaded on Monday night (May 24), her neighbour could be seen sticking a can of bug spray out of her window and spraying continuously for several seconds until the surroundings turned white.
Another video, recorded in March last year, showed her elderly neighbour poking her head through her window to glare at the same flat before unleashing a cloud of pesticide spray for 15 seconds.
The 47-year-old said the senior was "always on the go to provoke [her]" and would purposely aim the insecticide at her house which made her family choke from the fumes. Many of her plants had also died as a result.
@nikaklahrahmad Daytime also spray insecticide. Almost choke to the toxic fumes.##neighbourfromhell ##crazyneighbour ##fyp
♬ original sound - Ni Kak Lah Rahmad
When asked why she did so, the 71-year-old told Lianhe Wanbao: "I'm just afraid of mosquitoes. When I got up in the middle of the night, I saw cockroaches and mosquitoes outside the window, so I sprayed insecticide into the corridor."
The TikToker's family, however, are unconvinced by the elderly woman's answer. According to a post by the TikToker's daughter, which was reposted onto Sgfollowsall's Instagram account on Tuesday morning, their neighbour's actions started not long after they moved in.
She believed the senior had allegedly taken offence at her mother's potted plants and lodged a complaint with the town council, saying that her plants were a mosquito breeding site.
When the town council assured the senior that the plants were well maintained, she was "more pissed off" and allegedly found other ways to harass them — by splashing water at their door, ringing a bell at 5am, screaming and chanting to loud music, as well as spraying insecticide in the common corridor every day.
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CPQzKefhw-A/[/embed]
After making multiple police reports and complaints to the town council, the senior no longer sprays insecticide every day. However, the TikToker claimed the elderly woman had splashed water at her daughter-in-law in March.
"We were so angry we lodged a police report again."
The police confirmed with AsiaOne that a report was lodged and they're currently looking into the matter.
Neighbours deny accusations, call out TikToker for being inconsiderate
Splashing her neighbour was just an accident, the senior told the Chinese evening daily.
[[nid:502479]]
None of her actions was meant to target her neighbour or her family, but they were meant to attract good luck and ward off evil.
As for why she took issue with the TikToker's plants in the first place, the senior's daughter explained that the dozens of pots had caused great inconvenience to them.
The plants, which are now lined up on one side of the common corridor, used to flank both sides of the walkway, the 42-year-old said. Even though the town council had confirmed the remaining path was at least 1.2m wide, her mother wasn't happy.
"She had a stroke a few years back. When the paramedics placed her on a stretcher, they said the space in the corridor was too small."
rainercheung@asiaone.com