‘Inhuman, cruel and barbaric’: Yishun residents puzzled by strongly-worded no-smoking notice in lift

"Inhuman", "cruel" and "barbaric" were just some of the choice words used in a notice placed inside a lift in a block along Yishun Ring road.

Directed towards "the human being who smoke or puff the smoke inside the lift", the strongly-worded notice berated said "human being" for being "uncivilised".

It went on to say that those who suffer from medical conditions, or their family and friends, could die as a result of this person's actions.

It even included a large plea at the end, saying "we do not wish to die because of your selfish actions", written in all caps.

But for residents who hadn't encountered the smell of cigarette smoke in the lift before, the notice was met with much confusion.

Speaking with Lianhe Zaobao, a 27-year-old said she had no idea why such a notice suddenly appeared in the lift, explaining the lift had never smelled of cigarette smoke before.

Another resident, who lived in the block for 30 years, shared that while he'd regularly observe some elderly folks smoking along the corridors, he hadn't seen anyone taking a puff break inside the lifts at all.

"Is there really a need for such a notice, and such a dramatic one?" he asked. "It's making a mountain out of a molehill."

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In an interview with the Chinese daily, the 50-year-old resident behind the notice said he was driven to write the post after his nose was assaulted by the heavy smell of smoke when the lift doors opened on Jan 29 evening.

As the lift had travelled down to the ground floor from the sixth level, he suspected the smoker lived on that floor. He then decided to put up the notice out of concern for potentially asthmatic residents.

He's also lodged a complaint to the town council for good measure. AsiaOne has reached out to Nee Soon Town Council for more information.

Under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act, smoking in any common place of any residential premise or building is prohibited. 

rainercheung@asiaone.com