Trouble in the neighbourhood
Two nights ago, the excited voices of my next door neighbours (right of my apartment) woke me up. I turned on the bedlight and looked at the clock - 3.04am!!
My windows were all closed up but I could hear them. It was in Tamil, I couldn't understand a word. They were talking at the top of their voices and the echo in their flat plus the still of the night served only to intensify the volume. After some time, I couldn't put up with it any more. It was a work day tomorrow and I was not ready to put up with sleep deprivation.
So I called the police.
I did so in the dark. I felt afraid. Unsafe. Guilty. I couldn't return to sleep any more. The noise dropped but occasionally returned with intermittent crashing, and shouting. At some point, my neighbour shouted at his tenants in English,"Get out of my house!!! You get out!!!" I wondered if he was drunk.
Finally I heard the sounds of the walkie talkie in the corridor. The police! They finally arrived. I stayed in bed and did not get out to have a look. The clock read 4.15am. They took an hour to turn up. By then, my neighbour had quieten down. Did the police make a futile trip? I didn't know...I felt a little sorry that they could think I had cried wolf. I was simply glad they at least turned up and I was able to fall asleep again.
The next morning, all was quiet and peaceful in the neighbourhood.
This morning. The neighbour on my other side (left) of my apartment, Mr.Sim, tried to catch me before I left my apartment.
"Did you know about the noise?"...
"My son saw the police take him away in the wee hours of the morning"..
"All his tenant ran off and escaped from the arrest of police"...
"My son walked past some evenings and saw over 10 people in his place..illegal workers.."..
My dad was troubled that I admitted to Mr.Sim about calling the police. What if this spreads in the neighbourhood and my Ke-Leng neighbour finds out and wants revenge? I am disturbed but too late now. I sweep the thought off my mind.
This evening. He was back home and blasting the sound system again. He must be out on bail or something.
My windows were all closed up but I could hear them. It was in Tamil, I couldn't understand a word. They were talking at the top of their voices and the echo in their flat plus the still of the night served only to intensify the volume. After some time, I couldn't put up with it any more. It was a work day tomorrow and I was not ready to put up with sleep deprivation.
So I called the police.
I did so in the dark. I felt afraid. Unsafe. Guilty. I couldn't return to sleep any more. The noise dropped but occasionally returned with intermittent crashing, and shouting. At some point, my neighbour shouted at his tenants in English,"Get out of my house!!! You get out!!!" I wondered if he was drunk.
Finally I heard the sounds of the walkie talkie in the corridor. The police! They finally arrived. I stayed in bed and did not get out to have a look. The clock read 4.15am. They took an hour to turn up. By then, my neighbour had quieten down. Did the police make a futile trip? I didn't know...I felt a little sorry that they could think I had cried wolf. I was simply glad they at least turned up and I was able to fall asleep again.
The next morning, all was quiet and peaceful in the neighbourhood.
This morning. The neighbour on my other side (left) of my apartment, Mr.Sim, tried to catch me before I left my apartment.
"Did you know about the noise?"...
"My son saw the police take him away in the wee hours of the morning"..
"All his tenant ran off and escaped from the arrest of police"...
"My son walked past some evenings and saw over 10 people in his place..illegal workers.."..
My dad was troubled that I admitted to Mr.Sim about calling the police. What if this spreads in the neighbourhood and my Ke-Leng neighbour finds out and wants revenge? I am disturbed but too late now. I sweep the thought off my mind.
This evening. He was back home and blasting the sound system again. He must be out on bail or something.
posted by Fiery at Tuesday, November 22, 2005
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