'Highly anti-social': Man, 88, fined for throwing rubbish onto neighbour's air-conditioning ledge 18 times
An 88-year-old man was fined $3,000 on Nov 20 for discarding rubbish on his neighbour's air-conditioning ledge 18 times, CNA reported.
Choo Hoe Chiang pleaded guilty to one count of using threatening behaviour under the Protection of Harassment Act.
A second similar charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Discarded rubbish 18 times
The court heard that Choo resided in a HDB flat in Margaret Drive, and did not have good relations with his neighbour, a 60-year-old man who lived directly above him on the 12th floor.
Between Nov 2024 and Jan 2025, on 18 occasions, Choo attached plastic bags of rubbish to the end of a pole and lifted them upwards to place the bags on the victim's ledge.
He purposely discarded the bags of rubbish in this manner through his kitchen window, with the intention of harassing the victim.
The victim feared for his safety each time he removed the bags from the ledge.
In Nov 2024, he lodged a police report that someone had thrown rubbish outside his flat, suspecting that it came from the unit below. He also had CCTV footage capturing what Choo had done.
'Please reduce it a bit, please'
The second charge stated that Choo discharged rubbish on the ledge on six more occasions between June and Aug 2025.
The elderly man, who attended court with his son, said he had nothing to add in mitigation. Being hard of hearing, he was asked by the judge if he could read the statement of facts, but said he did not have his glasses.
He subsequently clarified that his son had reviewed the document with him beforehand.
District Judge Carol Ling sentenced him to a fine of $3,000. Failure to pay would result in 10 days' imprisonment.
Judge Ling told Choo that his deliberate and repeated actions were not only threatening, but also "highly anti-social".
After hearing the amount, Choo pleaded for a reduction of the fine: "Because we are very poor. No income. Please reduce it a bit, please."
The judge told Choo that the sentence had been passed and added that a counsellor would speak to him soon.
Under the Protection from Harassment Act, Choo could have been fined up to $10,000 for threatening behaviour.
