Condo residents sick of litter thrown from upper floors

Source : Straits Times – 24 Dec 2009

I REPRESENT a group of residents from Hougang’s Regentville Condominium who live in ground-floor units with open-concept balcony or private enclosed space.

Over the past few years, we have been experiencing rubbish thrown from the upper-floor units into our enclosed spaces. These include used tissue paper, soiled sanitary pads and diapers and packets of food, half eaten.

What is more disturbing is the killer litter: Cleavers, hardcover story books, toys, wooden sticks and even a baby walker have actually landed in our spaces. Each time this happened, we sought the help of the security guards and complained to the condo’s management agent (MA). The guards would issue verbal warnings to those who were caught red-handed, and that would be the end of it. No further action or deterrent measure has been taken to resolve the littering problem effectively.

When some ground-floor residents decided to build protective roofs over their spaces (within Urban Redevelopment Authority guidelines), they were asked by the MA to tear them down. Reasons for this included protecting the interests of the upper-floor residents, maintaining the estate’s facade, privacy, security and value of the property.

The motion to build the roofs was defeated during the annual general meeting, too, simply because ground-floor residents were in the minority.

When our group approached our MP, we were told that he could not interfere unless officially invited by the estate’s management council.

So it seems that our safety, and that of our families, now lies in the hands of upper-floor residents who lack civic sense. This should not be the case as our children and parents should be entitled to walk around our own private spaces free from the fear of being hit by something thrown from above.

Repeated calls for face-to-face discussions with the upper-floor residents to resolve the issue amicably have fallen on deaf ears.

I would like to know which authority would be in a position to help us.

Also, would the condo’s management council be liable if someone is seriously injured or killed by killer litter?

Lim Shaw Ming