I recently moved into a resale HDB flat in Tampines and tried to keep things peaceful with everyone around me. My direct neighbour is an older man who lives alone and seems to watch the corridor very closely. The first issue started about two weeks after I moved in.
I left one single pair of running shoes on the small metal rack right outside my main door. The next morning, a handwritten note was stuck to my door handle. It said that my shoes were blocking the shared corridor and causing a severe safety hazard.
The note demanded I remove them immediately. I thought it was a bit fussy since there was plenty of space to walk past, but to avoid any trouble, I simply moved the shoes inside my flat. I figured that would be the end of the matter.
But the complaints did not stop there. A few days later, another note appeared complaining about the smell of my cooking when I fried fish in the evening. Then another note claimed my delivery packages left outside were an eyesore.
Every week there was a new petty rule about what I could and could not do in my own hallway. I was getting quite tired of walking out of my house wondering what new complaint was waiting for me. My friends told me I should just ignore him, but it was becoming really irritating.
Finally, I decided to install a small motion activated camera disguised as a doorbell to protect my parcels. I did not expect it to catch anything major regarding his usual notes. But last Tuesday night, the camera notification popped up on my phone while I was still awake watching television.
I opened the live feed and watched in absolute shock. The neighbour walked up to my door, looked around to check if anyone else was watching, and then deliberately took a used tissue from his pocket and threw it right into my open laundry basket sitting on my shoe rack. He even spat on the floor near my entrance before walking away.
All this time he was making a big fuss about corridor cleanliness while secretly messing with my things. Now I have clear video proof of his disgusting behavior, but I am wondering whether I should report him directly to HDB or confront him face to face first.
What would you do with this video evidence
Would you confront your neighbour immediately or find out more first?
