Woman driven to desperation after alleged harassment for 3 years by rowdy neighbors

Video screengrabs
Video screengrabs

Distressed and desperate after enduring years of “sexual harassment” perpetrated by her neighbors and their friends, a young woman has taken to social media last Friday to plead for help in her situation.

The lady, who we’ll refer to as YT, went on Facebook to detail the years of alleged intimidation and provocation carried out on her family — all of whom have been living in a rented two-room flat in Marine Parade. According to the 22-year-old, her whole family has been tormented by a group of teenage boys, whose apparently rowdy antics and bullying tactics have made life difficult for three years.

It’s a bit of a long story, but we’ll try to condense YT’s account.

  • She claims that her family has been continually badgered by a group of young kids and teenage boys who’ve been hanging around along the common corridor and making a ruckus among themselves till the wee hours of the morning. It all started since 2015, she says.
  • There could be up to 10 young men in the group, and they would hang around the lift lobby.
  • According to YT, the boys would catcall her, make derogatory comments, smirk, stare, and generally make her feel uncomfortable every time she walks past them. Her female friends weren’t spared the harassment. “They dared each other to look under my skirt, speaking in Malay, thinking that we do not understand the language.”

  • Her younger brother was once afraid of taking the lift because the boys threw their football at him. Her mother — who works at a hawker stall — gets her rest disturbed by the din caused by their neighbors.
  • Attempts to threaten them with law enforcement initially caused things to quiet down, but the boys were back at it with the harassment after a while, YT says.
  • Both the Town Council and the police were informed, but according to YT, it didn’t do anything much. “They emphasized that I should lie low while they liaised with the town council and police station. Well, it’s been one year since, and the situation has not changed. Not even one bit.”
  • Her estate’s Member of Parliament simply suggested that she pursue legal options instead.
  • “I have reached a dead end. I am done. I do not have the intention of intimidating anyone but I have had enough of being ignored. I am sick of being objectified, I am exhausted, I feel vulnerable in my home — my supposed safe haven. I just want to feel safe in my neighborhood. I want to be happy about returning home to my family. Just once. I sincerely hope it is not too much to ask for.”

It should come to no surprise that YT’s post went viral, with netizens chiming their support for the young lady and giving her suggestions on how to deal with the neighbors. It also attracted the attention of people related to the accused bullies.

Photo: Facebook screengrab
Photo: Facebook screengrab
Photo: Facebook screengrab
Photo: Facebook screengrab

Others demanded to know how YT — a travel blogger — has the money to go for regular trips overseas despite living in a two-room rental flat. She had to lay out how she manages her finances on her blog in a bid to explain herself.

“The amount I spent during my trip, or even ten times of, was definitely not enough for me to buy a flat, even the cheapest one, somewhere,” she wrote.

“I think people are forgetting the real issue at hand. Even if I don’t travel at all, it’ll take me years to save up before I can buy a flat. What do I do then? Continue living under such conditions in those years?”

Post-viral

Since she went public with the matter, there have been some developments, according to updates she made on social media and to Coconuts Singapore.

  • The mother of one of the teenage boys involved was said to have reached out to YT and promised to handle the matter.
  • The boys’ verbal abuse allegedly became even more intense — she has already lodged police report out of fear for her safety.
  • She spoke to three Chinese-language newspapers about the issue. Lianhe Wanbao managed to speak to the neighbors, who denied ever harassing her and claiming that their gatherings never go beyond 10pm.

 

Editor’s note: Names have been removed for privacy concerns



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