How can this happen in Singapore?
CONDO
RESIDENTS WHO OPPOSE EN BLOC RECOUNT
'PINUSHMENT' TORTURED BY BLOC HEAD
BULLIES
ONE resident's Mercedes Benz badge was ripped off and stolen.
Another had a poster plastered on his front door, with the words
'Trouble Maker' on it.
Yet another resident's telephone stopped working. And when he
went outside to check, he discovered that someone had cut his phone
line.
Say hello to a new form of neighbourly harassment that has
reared its ugly head in several condominiums around Singapore,
following the en-bloc fever that began last year.
Upset by some of their neighbours' refusal to endorse en-bloc
deals, which could result in instant windfalls for some owners,
these condo bullies resort to cowardly acts of vandalism to torment
their neighbours.
As one aggrieved resident put it: 'This is really uncivilised
behaviour.'
Last week, it was reported that at least six cars had been
vandalised at Laguna Park since en-bloc discussions began. They all
belonged to residents opposed to an en-bloc sale.
In the wake of the Laguna Park incidents, Singaporeans living in
other private estates are coming forward with similar horror
stories. At least two other condominiums have supposedly been hit
by such bullies.
Some of its residents told The New Paper on Sunday of bullying
acts - some uncivil, others plain criminal.
One such resident is Mr Tan Keng Ann, who owns an apartment at
Green Lodge estate, a condominium along Toh Tuck Road.
Some of the 80 apartment owners there have been pushing for an
en-bloc agreement for years. But Mr Tan was among those who
resisted.
'I don't even read some of the proposals that were put out,
because I have no intention of selling,' the 60-year-old cosmetics
distributor said.
He bought his apartment in 1984 and lived there for a decade
before moving elsewhere. He has been renting out the apartment.
Mr Tan claimed that from late 2006, residents opposed to the
en-bloc sale had become targets of a variety of pranks and bullying
tactics.
In December that year, someone pasted a poster on his door with
the words 'Trouble Maker', he said. At that time, no one was living
in the apartment, as the previous tenant had just moved out.
'If I had a tenant, you can imagine how it might have affected
my relationship with him,' he said.
In the same month, Mr Tan's neighbour, who also opposed the
sale, woke up one morning to find the badge of his Mercedes Benz
missing.
The two made police reports together. Mr Tan said the police
came and took fingerprint samples from his neighbour's car.
The New Paper on Sunday could not reach his neighbour, who is on
an overseas trip.
Mr Tan said: 'I feel very angry. If you have any problem, as a
neighbour, you should come and talk to me, instead of resorting to
such acts.'
Green Lodge's en-bloc attempts have so far gained the approval
of about 70 per cent of owners, falling short of the 80 per cent
required under law.
Mr Heng Chee Tong, 32, a civil engineer, who lives at Lakeview
Estate along Upper Thomson Road, said someone twisted off the radio
antenna of his Toyota Altis last August after he declined an
en-bloc deal.
He spent $50 to fix it and made a police report.
Four neighbours who rejected the en-bloc sale told him their
cars were scratched.
Another said his telephone line outside the apartment was
deliberately cut, Mr Heng told The New Paper on Sunday.
'Why are (these culprits) trying to harass other people into
selling their apartments?
'There shouldn't be any coercion into making a decision. We
should be more civil about the whole exercise. But now, there is a
spirit of animosity in our estate.'
Mr Heng said that pro-en-bloc neighbours who used to talk to him
when they met in the lift have since turned cold or hostile.
Two en-bloc attempts so far - in January and August last year -
by Lakeview Estate's residents have failed. Both had about 60 per
cent support.
A nature lover, Mr Heng intends to stay put in his
apartment.
'The location is so good. It is central, and it is close to
MacRitchie Reservoir.'
Property agents contacted by The New Paper on Sunday said that
tension from en-bloc discussions is nothing new.
Mr Andrew Lin, an agent, said: 'There will definitely be
hostility, because some want to sell and some refuse to.'
Another agent Francis Ngiam said en-bloc meetings by residents
have been known to be heated, with some residents even making
banners to express their strong views.
However, both said that resorting to illegal acts, such as car
vandalism, is still relatively rare here.
Psychologist Kit Ng, director of The Centre for Psychology, said
these condo bullies are not like common vandals 'who go around
carparks painting cars'.
He said these vandals are 'seeking to create fear in others by
sending a message that 'something will happen to you if you don't
comply'.
Dr Elizabeth Nair, who heads Work & Health Psychologists,
said that anger can turn even professionals and well-educated
people into bullies.
And when they are upset over a perceived attempt to ruin their
chances of getting a windfall from a property sale, the anger could
just cause them to lose their heads.
Elgin Toh, newsroom intern
