SINGAPORE: A woman living on the fifth floor of Block 646 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 made a garden of sorts in the corridor outside her flat as a gift to her father. Tending not only to plants but also to fish would give him a hobby in his later years, she reasoned in a Shin Min Daily News article from last weekend.
However, some of their neighbours have expressed unhappiness with the situation, citing specific concerns over safety.
In the September 20 report, it says that the woman’s father, who died last month, had suffered from dementia, which is why some of the plants are labelled. A CCTV camera was also placed in the corridor so she could monitor his safety.
According to the Guidelines on Usage of Common Corridor issued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), a minimum clear escape passage of 1.2 metres must be maintained along the hallway, which the woman told the Chinese-language daily that she adheres to.
“If Town Council / Management Corporation allows placement of potted plants, it shall be ensured that the placement along the corridor adheres to an unobstructed escape passage with at least 1.2 m width clearance throughout the corridor,” the guidelines say.
The woman also said that when paramedics needed to take her father to the hospital every month, they had no difficulty in transporting the elderly man in a stretcher.
Unhappy neighbours
The report added, however, that this has been an issue with some of the neighbours, with one resident, a senior citizen, being concerned that in case of an emergency, when time is of the essence, such as a fire, the plants would be in the way of people or emergency personnel. The resident also pointed out that the fish in their tanks could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
When a reporter for Shin Min Daily News visited the fifth floor of Block 646 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, they saw shelves on both sides of the hallway with about 20 plants, as well as three fish tanks near the woman’s door. The area, however, was neat and orderly.
After her father’s passing, she and her mother have been taking care of the hallway in his memory.
She claimed that she had never heard of any complaints concerning the common corridor from her neighbours, adding that she had asked them to engage in a dialogue if they had any issues.
MS News reported the AMK Town Council as having said that while the woman complied with the space requirement stated in the SCDF guidelines, she was still asked to move some items, including one fish tank, that had been along the corridor. /TISG
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