Unhappy neighbours complain of cheese smell, second-hand smoke

Living in HDB blocks, it is normal to detect smell and noise coming from outside the flat.

Residents would smell a neighbour's cooking or hear the buzz of activities.

But there are residents who feel their neighbours ought to refrain from doing anything in their own homes that might cause discomfort to others.

unhappy neighbour #1

A man claims that his wife, a stroke survivor, suffered an epileptic seizure and even fell into a coma and had to be taken to the hospital because of a neighbour.

He accused his neighbour's smoking to be responsible for what happened to his wife.

Mr Zhan and Ms Cai have lived at Segar Road in Bukit Panjang for more than 20 years. 

He told Shin Min Daily News that since their neighbours moved into the unit directly below his in 2017, he and his wife had been suffering from second-hand smoke.

It is not known if Mr Zhan and his wife kept all their windows open.

“They smoke in the corridor and the second-hand smoke would drift into my house,” Mr Zhan explained, adding that his plea to his neighbours to stop smoking has caused a rift between them.

“I kindly asked them to stop smoking outside, but they retorted, saying it was their own business.”

Ms Cai had a stroke in 2019 and needed multiple surgeries. Mr Zhan claimed that when she returned home after more than a year in hospital, her health has since deteriorated due to daily exposure to second-hand smoke.

“My wife had epileptic seizures because of the frequent inhalation of second-hand smoke. The doctor later explained to me her epilepsy can be triggered by second-hand smoke,” he said.

unhappy neighbour #2

Ms Li, who lives in Yishun, has raised concerns over her neighbour’s private pizza dinners.

She claimed the strong cheese smell from the baking pizzas would give her headaches.

"I have always been sensitive to the smell of cheese, and it gives me a headache when I smell it," she told Shin Min Daily News, adding that her neighbour's guests made a lot of noise.

Ms Li said there would be groups of up to eight people visiting twice a week, allegedly making excessive noise from 7pm to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

“They laugh and talk loudly in the flat, the noise has affected my sleep badly,” she shared.

Ms Li approached her neighbour on Oct 21 to air her grievances but apparently it had no impact on his activities.

“When my neighbour bakes pizza and the smell of cheese and herbs drifts into my flat, I would spray perfume or air freshener to get rid of the smell. Unfortunately, it is not very effective,” she said.

The neighbour, Mr Shen, said Ms Li sent him a message on social media.

“We’ve always believed that any problems can be solved through communication, but she brought it up only last week,” said the 43-year-old, who bought door seals to block the gap under his door.

He also now keeps the kitchen door closed when baking pizzas and ensures the fire escape door outside the flat remains shut to prevent air ventilation from his house from drifting into Ms Li’s flat.

“I respect her opinion but I also feel this is unfair to my guests and me because this is our lifestyle. She teaches music in her flat, so I thought she would give and take."