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Singaporean Matters: Live and let live
“Justin, don’t get old,” the elderly resident said to me with sadness in his eyes.
The elderly resident, a gentleman in his 70s, is the subject of a noise complaint filed by his neighbor. As I helped to mediate the dispute, I learned that his wife was injured in an accident a few years ago and is permanently unable to work, and being in his 70s he is unable to get a job.
He was apologetic for using the industrial noodle-making machine in his house that is causing the noise but explained that this was a simple home business to put food on the table. Looking around the house, I could see signs that they were not well-off. He shared that since his neighbor complained about the noise, he has done everything he could to reduce the noise — he closes every door and window in the house when using the machine, he only uses it during office hours and in short bursts, and he has even placed 4 layers of shock-absorbing mats under the machine. As I listened to the sound from his neighbor’s house, to me, the sound is barely noticeable but I do admit that the slight humming can be irritating if done for prolonged periods of time.
Hoping for understanding and sympathy to forge a compromise, I explained the elderly…
