Contractor mistakes woman’s balcony for public area, leaves gondola there
Sure, HDB upgrades may involve some noise, dust, and unsightly piles of tools or materials. And most residents would be fine with that.
It’s just something you put up with, knowing it’s all for an improved neighborhood.
But this woman found that for her, a contractor’s work in Chinatown was more than a passing inconvenience, and was really an intrusion.
She came home on Nov 11 and was stunned to find a gondola, which is used to take workers up and down the facade of buildings, parked in her balcony.
The woman, surnamed Zheng, told Shin Min Daily News that she made the discovery around 9pm, when she returned to her flat on the fourth storey of a Sago Lane block.
"I immediately called a friend from the community club for help, and they told me there was a notice pasted outside the lift on the first floor," the 72-year-old retiree was quoted as saying.
She went down and found a notice from a contractor about exterior repainting and cleaning works.
She said: "The balcony is part of my house. The contractor left the gondola there without asking for my permission, which can be considered trespassing."
The Jalan Besar Town Council later said the contractor had mistaken the balcony for public property, and left the gondola there after finishing the day's work.
The town council explained that gondolas used in repainting and repair works are usually parked on the ground level.
"The contractor later removed the gondola from Ms Zheng's balcony, and we have given the contractor a warning," the town council was quoted as saying.
The town council apologised to Ms Zheng for the misunderstanding. The project manager from the construction company, surnamed Lao, also apologised to the resident.
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