SINGAPORE — A bitter neighbour dispute in Sengkang has erupted online after videos allegedly showing rubbish being thrown outside a resident’s flat went viral, drawing hundreds of thousands of views and exposing months of complaints, confrontations and failed mediation.
The dispute involves two households living opposite each other on the 16th floor of a rental block at 182 Rivervale Crescent.
Videos posted on TikTok by resident Kelly Lee, 36, show a man walking across the common corridor and throwing bags of rubbish outside her unit before returning home. Other clips uploaded by Lee allegedly show the man and his sister leaving rubbish near her door, while some videos capture heated exchanges between the neighbours.
One of the rubbish-throwing videos reportedly attracted nearly 500,000 views, while another clip involving Lee’s daughter and her boyfriend drew more than 433,000 views, according to AsiaOne.
But behind the viral footage is a much longer-running dispute — and both sides tell very different stories about how it began.
How a neighbourhood dispute escalated
Lee told AsiaOne that tensions began after her family moved into the flat last year.
According to her account, the initial disagreement involved her seven-year-old daughter, who allegedly rode a scooter across the corridor towards the neighbour’s side. The neighbour, identified as Alagan s/o Jayagayo, subsequently complained about missing items, including a parcel and slippers.
Lee said her husband apologised after speaking with Alagan and that the issue initially appeared to have been resolved.
The relationship later deteriorated over a series of complaints involving personal mobility aids, noise, pets and other household issues.
Lee said her family eventually moved their personal mobility aids from the corridor to the void deck after being told to do so by the town council.
Alagan, however, gave a different account.
He told AsiaOne that tensions began almost immediately after Lee’s family moved in, including an alleged confrontation over incense smoke during a Hindu prayer ritual.
He also said he became frustrated after what he described as several personal mobility aids being parked outside Lee’s flat and allegedly obstructing access around the common area and rubbish chute.
Both sides have disputed parts of the other’s account.
Then came the rubbish
The dispute took another turn when rubbish began appearing outside Lee’s unit.
Lee told AsiaOne that the behaviour started occasionally in July before becoming more frequent in August.
She said she eventually began uploading CCTV footage because she believed the rubbish was being deliberately left outside her home.
Alagan acknowledged leaving rubbish outside Lee’s unit, but claimed the action was a reaction to what he said was his neighbour’s family kicking his rubbish away from the communal disposal area.
He said he was frustrated by the ongoing conflict and the accusations exchanged between the households.
The two accounts remain sharply different, and neither side’s allegations should be treated as established fact unless independently proven.
The dispute reportedly involved police and mediation
The conflict has reportedly gone beyond verbal arguments.
Lee said she made multiple police reports and also contacted the National Environment Agency and the town council.
The 8world report separately quoted residents who said they had witnessed repeated arguments between the two households and that police had attended the block on multiple occasions. One resident described the arguments as frequent and said there had been occasions when the situation appeared close to becoming physical.
In June, the two sides were invited by HDB to mediation at the Community Mediation Centre in Maxwell.
However, the session ended without an agreement.
Lee and Alagan also gave different accounts of what happened during the mediation, with each saying the other side’s concerns were not adequately addressed.
CCTV became another flashpoint
The feud escalated further after the videos began circulating online.
Alagan said he was upset that footage showed his family members and included identifying details about their home.
Lee alleged that Alagan subsequently damaged her CCTV cameras and threatened her with a chair. Police were called, although AsiaOne reported that no arrests were made.
These claims are allegations reported by the parties involved and have not been presented as court findings.
Lee has said she wants to pursue the matter legally and hopes to move to another flat. She also said HDB advised her to apply for a transfer.
Alagan, meanwhile, said he could not afford legal action because he is the family’s sole breadwinner and also cares for his elderly mother.
The bigger issue: Singapore is changing how neighbour disputes are handled
The Sengkang dispute comes at a significant moment for Singapore’s approach to neighbourhood conflicts.
From 1 September 2026, the Government will expand its Mediation Direction framework nationwide.
Under the expanded system, HDB and the People’s Association will be authorised to issue directions requiring disputing neighbours in public housing estates to attend mediation at the Community Mediation Centre. PA will also have this authority in private housing estates.
The directions are legally backed and must be complied with.
The Government is also expanding the Community Relations Unit (CRU) nationwide. The unit focuses on the most severe neighbour disputes involving excessive and prolonged noise, as well as certain hoarding cases.
CRU officers can investigate severe cases, take statements, issue warnings and, where appropriate, issue abatement orders requiring a person to stop a noise nuisance. Failure to comply with an abatement order can constitute a criminal offence.
The nationwide expansion follows a pilot in Tampines that began in April 2025.
During the pilot, four mediation directions were issued. Two cases resulted in both sides attending mediation and reaching settlements, while another went through mediation without reaching an agreement.
In 2025, Singapore recorded 1,676 voluntary neighbour-mediation cases. Of those, 317 proceeded to mediation and 250 resulted in settlements, according to figures released by the Government.
A feud that started small — and grew far beyond one corridor
What makes the Rivervale Crescent dispute particularly striking is how a series of seemingly ordinary neighbourhood disagreements — involving a child’s scooter, missing belongings, personal mobility aids, noise, rubbish and CCTV — developed into a prolonged conflict involving social-media videos, police reports and mediation.
The viral footage may have brought the dispute into the public eye, but the videos capture only part of the story.
Both households maintain that they have been responding to actions by the other side.
For now, there appears to be no simple resolution.
And as Singapore prepares to strengthen its neighbourhood-dispute framework nationwide, the case highlights a broader question for HDB communities: How far should a neighbour dispute be allowed to escalate before outside intervention becomes necessary?
Authorities have repeatedly stressed that government intervention is not a substitute for good neighbourly relations.
As MCCY, MinLaw and MND put it, the first and best response remains direct communication, mutual understanding and mediation.
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