A Singapore landlady said her Japanese tenant left behind just $15 after allegedly losing his money, business and marriage, before a debt collector later turned up at her home.
In a TikTok post uploaded on Monday (Aug 31), this woman, who only wanted to be referred to as Ms Hong, said the tenant had rented her HDB flat in Bukit Merah for about four years, during which he also ran a food and beverage (F&B) business.
Hong told AsiaOne that her tenant's F&B business had struggled since the Covid-19 pandemic, and he and his family had been facing financial difficulties.
According to her, the tenant messaged her about three weeks ago to say that he had "lost everything".
She added that over the past two years, they had sometimes delayed their rental payments, but had never failed to pay, usually settling the rent by the 15th of each month.
"Likewise, this time, shortly after they paid, they left the country," she said.
He also allegedly told her that he had to return to Japan for an "urgent life-threatening surgery".
The tenant explained that as medical treatment in Singapore was too expensive for foreigners, he would not be returning back to the country.
When she entered the HDB flat after he had left, she found about $15 in notes, coins and some foreign currency on a coffee table.
"I honestly feel so sorry for him," she wrote.
Since then, the tenant's former wife, whom the landlady said had divorced him, has also become uncontactable on WhatsApp.
The tenant himself did not respond to the landlady's goodbye message, she said.
However, two weeks later, the landlady said she found a letter from a licensed debt collector at her door.
This prompted her to contact the debt collector to explain that the tenant had already left Singapore and was not planning to return.
The landlady said the debt collector asked her to make a police report.
She declined, saying she was not pursuing the matter as she understood the tenant's debt to be a civil matter.
According to her account, the debt collector then told her: "It's good for him."
When she continued to refuse, the man allegedly "raised his voice" at her and said, "I will see you."
The landlady said she was shocked by the exchange.
"I'm just the landlady. Why should I be threatened because of my tenant's debt?" she wrote. She didn't specify how much debt the tenant had incurred.
She also questioned whether it was appropriate for a debt collection letter to be left at her door where passers-by could potentially see information about her tenant's financial situation.
"Where does the responsibility of a landlord end?" she questioned.
She has since made a police report about the debt collector, who continued to contact her afterwards.
[[nid:744058]]
