A 51-year-old man pleaded guilty to smearing poo on the door of his neighbor’s flat in Bukit Merah back in 2021. As if that wasn’t enough, he also admitted to using a hammer to damage her closed-circuit television (CCTV) in 2022.
On July 17, 2023, Chia Chee Khiang was convicted on one count of harassment and another count of mischief, with four additional charges taken into consideration. It is worth noting that this was not Mr. Chia’s first brush with the law; he had previously been convicted for harassment in May 2019.
As Mr. Chia’s previous sentence of two weeks’ imprisonment for harassment in 2019 has not been set aside, he is now liable for enhanced punishment due to his repeat offense.
The Smearing of Poo
On October 27, 2021, at approximately 7:25 am, Ms. Oh Lai Choon was jolted awake by a pungent smell seeping through her door.
Upon investigating, she was appalled to find that her wooden door, gate frame, and the corridor outside her unit had been maliciously smeared with feces. Feeling harassed and alarmed, she immediately called the police to report the incident.
Ms. Oh informed the police that a similar incident had occurred just six days earlier on October 21. This raised suspicions that the poo-smearing was not a random act but a targeted campaign against her.
During police questioning on October 29, 2021, the perpetrator, Mr. Chia Chee Khiang, confessed that he had intentionally thrown poo at Ms. Oh’s door as an act of retaliation. He claimed to be infuriated by the alleged noise coming from her unit and wanted to get back at her for disturbing his peace.
The Hammer Incident
On February 13, 2022, at around 7:05 am, Mr. Chia heard persistent pounding sounds emanating from Ms. Oh’s unit. Despite shouting for them to stop, the noises continued to disturb him. Fueled by anger, he grabbed a hammer and stormed to Ms. Oh’s unit to confront her.
Upon arriving at her unit, Mr. Chia began banging on Ms. Oh’s gate with the hammer, rudely awakening her from her sleep. Panicked by the sudden commotion, Ms. Oh decided to check her CCTV footage on her iPad.
To her surprise, she found that Mr. Chia’s unit gate was open. As she continued to observe the live feed, she saw him with the hammer, knocking on her gate.
In a desperate attempt to protect himself from any consequences, Mr. Chia took the hammer to her CCTV, causing irreversible damage. The CCTV, which was valued at S$94, was rendered inoperable. Despite his actions, no restitution has been made thus far.
He is set to return to court at the end of this month (31 July) for his sentencing.