'I'm suffering all day': Hougang resident keeps tabs on neighbour's parrots 'making noise' every day

After putting up with her neighbour's noisy parrot for a year, this annoyed woman decided to start keeping a notebook filled with detailed records as "evidence".

Wang, 68, shared that she had lived in harmony with her neighbour upstairs at Block 436 Hougang Avenue 8 for more than 10 years, Shin Min Daily News reported last Sunday (Jan 15).

But that peace was shattered after the neighbour starting keeping parrots about a year ago– all four of them to be exact, lamented this elderly woman. 

"Her birds start making noise at around 10am and it goes on and off until late at night. I am suffering at home all day," Wang added.

After falling to talk it out with her neighbour, Wang shared that she took the dispute to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) last October.

Housing Board residents may seek legal recourse through the CDRT as a last resort if disputes with their neighbours cannot be resolved even by mediation with grassroots leaders or at the Community Mediation Centre, HDB said. 

The judge at the time ordered the parrot owner to install a door at her balcony to block out the noise, but Wang said that the problem remains unresolved.

"They often leave the door open after installing it. It's annoying to hear the birds chirping every morning," she said.

Wang has now resorted to keeping a record of her neighbour's inconsiderate behaviour.

According to the woman's notes, she would record in detail the time when the birds upstairs were screaming, along with the date of her arguments with her neighbour. 

The parrots have since soured the relationship with her neighbour, Wang said. 

"During Chinese New Year last year, I kindly asked Hua not to make the birds too noisy, she said I was scolding her," the woman said, adding that they often hurl expletives at each other.

Parrots to keep daughter company

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the parrot owner, surnamed Hua, shared that she had adopted three of her four birds.

The 46-year-old said: "A few years ago my daughter was in a rebellious phase. I had to work, and she was alone at home with no company. That's when I decided to start keeping parrots."

Describing how she has tried to reduce the noise, Hua shared that the birdcage was moved from the balcony back into the house, and it was also covered with a black cloth every night.

"Out of the four parrots, only two of them sing. The others are very quiet, only when they want to play with people," she explained, adding that she has no plans to give away her birds. 

In response to Wang's complaints of their expletives-filled arguments, Hua shared that she had held back from scolding Wang until September last year.

'I dreaded going home' 

Other HDB flat residents have previously complained about their neighbour's noisy parrots. 

In October last year, a Bedok resident told Shin Min Daily News that she sold her flat to escape from her neighbour's pet. 

Wu, who has lived at Block 620 Bedok Reservoir Road for the past 13 years, shared how the parrot would scream every day from 7pm at the common corridor. 

"I dreaded going home to rest even after a busy day," she said, adding that her family will be moving out in February. 

And in May last year, several residents of Block 61 Chai Chee Road complained that a man's ownership of over 10 birds had ruffled their feathers.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the residents said that the owner's menagerie of birds also include four parrots and these parrots would screech at five or six in the morning. 

Responding to his neighbours' complaints, the bird owner said: "If my birds are released, you happy I not happy". 

chingshijie@asiaone.com