We don’t call the police. We just sue

It was the second week of the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore, yet a sizeable crowd had gathered by the pool waiting for their MP to officiate at a lion dance ceremony at our classmate Sean’s condominium. Christalle and I were there, hoping to catch the MP in action.

But our wait was fruitless — the Neighbourhood Committee (NC) in charge of the MP’s visit said he was sick and wouldn’t be showing up. Not wanting to make our trip a wasted one, we shifted our focus to speaking to residents and the committee’s grassroots volunteers.

Shortly after, the volunteers said they were moving to a neighbouring condo for another lion dance ceremony. Christalle and I decided to follow but it took us a while to get there (they drove). After following a group of residents past security, we managed to catch some of the volunteers. But we were soon interrupted by an angry condo manager.

“Who are you two? Our residents have been asking about you,” he asked.

Christalle and I looked at each other uncomfortably. She began to explain, but was swiftly cut off.

“You know this is private property, right? So, we don’t involve the police in such matters, we just sue,” the manager said.

Gulp! We pleaded with the manager, explaining again we were just following the NC. Anyway, we were just about to leave. Next time, he said, write in beforehand when you want to enter the condo. We nodded and left, knowing we were never coming back again.

Chandreyee Ray