Woman claims neighbour smokes in own flat despite CDRT order to stop
A resident of Block 241 Bukit Panjang Ring Road went to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals to complain against her neighbour for smoking in their own flat.
Ms Zhong, 56, claimed she and her 78-year-old mother had trouble sleeping because of the second-hand smoke wafting from the eighth-storey unit directly below her flat.
In 2021, she tracked the neighbour's smoking routine every day and recorded 150 times in two weeks.
"We couldn't sleep well almost every day," Ms Zhong told Shin Min Daily News.
"When we woke up, our heartbeats increased and we felt very uncomfortable. My mother has a heart disease and needs regular check-ups."
She shared the CDRT order forbidding the neighbour from smoking in the flat and the ban covers all products containing nicotine and tobacco. The neighbour is to go to the ground flood if they were to smoke.
Now Ms Zhong has claimed there she could still smell smoke despite the court order and it was making her life "painful".
She tried to solicit feedback from other neighbours experiencing the same issues, pasting signs at the lift landing of the seventh and ninth storeys and offering reward for anyone who could provide useful information.
A lawyer consulted by the Chinese daily explained that the affected resident could go to the court if she felt that the neighbour had violated the prohibition but she would need to produce sufficient evidence. Alternatively, she could start a civil claim against the neighbour.
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