7 things I hate about you: Man lists gripes about living in Punggol

To many couples and young families, scoring a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat these days is akin to striking 4D.

However, that doesn't seem to be the case for one man, who seems to be more than happy to move out of his Punggol BTO flat after five years. 

The man, surnamed Wong, wrote a lengthy post on Facebook last Thursday (Oct 6) sharing seven reasons why he disliked Punggol estate. 

"Finally move out from Punggol," Wong wrote, before delving into the several issues he had with the neighbourhood. 

Some of these gripes ranged from issues with the location, such as the "smell from Pasir Gudang" and "airplanes flying up and down every day" — all the way to problems with his estate, including the "depressing and dark basement carparks" and "depressing young couple neighbours". 

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News about his post, the 41-year-old said he previously stayed in Jurong East and Sengkang before moving to Punggol. 

"We wanted to move out after two or three years, but we hadn't reached the Minimum Occupation Period. This year we can finally leave Punggol. We moved to Bukit Timah in May and the quality of our lives has improved," Wong told the Chinese daily. 

He did not say whether he moved into a HDB flat or a private property over at Bukit Timah. 

Wong's post has since attracted over 300 comments from netizens, some who came out to defend this estate and its shortcomings. 

A Punggol resident, who claims to have lived in the area for 20 years disagreed with Wong,  posting that Punggol was "a very nice place to stay". 

Another resident, who moved to Punggol from Sengkang remarked that they hadn't experience any issues with living in the estate thus far, even going as far to say that "life is better in Punggol".  

Conversely, others agreed with Wong and chimed in with complaints of their own. One felt that the flats in Punggol were "somehow designed to be blasted by the sun from the east [and] west". 

When asked about the comments he received on his post, Wong brushed it off, acknowledging that everyone has the right to their own views.

However, he maintained that these were the problems that he faced, and hence chose to move elsewhere. 

Shin Min also spoke to some residents in Punggol, who felt that Wong's remarks were rather exaggerated. 

One resident who has lived in Punggol for a decade thought that Wong's post was one-sided.

The resident surnamed Sheng, said that he too has been affected by the loud sounds from the planes taking off, but has yet to encounter the other problems that Wong mentioned. 

"The airport at Seletar will eventually be moved, so the situation should improve. More roads are also opening up, so I believe that traffic will be smoother as well," said the 29-year-old. 

Another resident surnamed Guo, who has lived in Punggol for four years, said: "It's true that there's a smell from Pasir Gudang, but it only happens once every two months, not every day." 

Back in 1996, the blueprint for Punggol 21 was unveiled by former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong with the vision of developing Punggol 21 as 'A Waterfront Town of the 21st Century'.

Then in 2007, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Punggol would be selected as one of the pilot towns under the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme, to turn Punggol into a waterfront town. 

The ROH programme was launched as a comprehensive rejuvenation blueprint to renew and further develop existing HDB towns and estates. 

ALSO READ:  'Our block has many children': Punggol resident complains after neighbours smoke in own home

claudiatan@asiaone.com