A Singapore landlady says a Japanese tenant who had rented her HDB flat in Bukit Merah for about four years left the country after telling her he had “lost everything” — including his money, business and marriage.
What happened next left the landlady facing an unexpected problem of her own: a debt collector allegedly turning up at her home.
According to AsiaOne, the tenant had also operated an F&B business in Singapore. The landlady, identified only as Ms Hong, said the business had struggled since the Covid-19 pandemic and that the tenant and his family had experienced financial difficulties.
The tenant reportedly said he was leaving Singapore
Hong said the tenant contacted her about three weeks before her Aug 31 TikTok post and told her he had “lost everything.”
She said rental payments had occasionally been delayed over the previous two years, but the tenant had always eventually paid, usually by the 15th of the month.
He allegedly told her he was returning to Japan for an urgent, life-threatening surgery, adding that medical treatment in Singapore was too expensive for foreigners and that he would not be coming back.
When Hong entered the flat after the tenant had left, she said she found only around S$15 in cash, coins and foreign currency on a coffee table.
Hong said she felt sorry for the tenant, but the situation soon took another turn.
Then a debt collector allegedly came to her door
About two weeks later, Hong said she found a letter from a licensed debt collector outside her home.
She contacted the debt collector and explained that the tenant had already left Singapore and was not expected to return.
According to Hong’s account, the debt collector asked her to make a police report. When she declined, saying she understood the tenant’s debt to be a civil matter, she alleged that the man raised his voice and told her:
“I will see you.”
Hong said she was shocked because she was only the tenant’s landlord and questioned why she should face threats over someone else’s debt.
She also questioned whether leaving a debt-collection letter at her door could expose her tenant’s financial information to passers-by.
Hong has since made a police report about the debt collector, and said the man continued contacting her afterwards.
What remains unclear
AsiaOne’s report does not state how much debt the Japanese tenant allegedly owed, nor does it establish whether the debt collector committed an offence.
The tenant also did not respond to Hong’s reported farewell message, while his former wife was said to have become unreachable on WhatsApp.
For now, the account is based primarily on the landlady’s statements and social-media post. The allegations against the debt collector should therefore not be treated as established fact.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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