Residents believe the noise came from a unit in Block 55 Tiong Bahru Road that has been unoccupied since early December. - ST
SINGAPORE: Alarm clocks have been disrupting the lives of residents in a Tiong Bahru neighbourhood since early December, ringing up to eight times a day for about an hour each time.
Residents in Block 55 Tiong Bahru Road and Block 56 Eng Hoon Street told The Straits Times that the alarms, which go off at random hours, are a nuisance to those working from home and have jolted some awake in the middle of the night.
Several residents have made police reports and filed complaints with Tanjong Pagar Town Council.
They believe the noise came from a unit in Block 55 that has been unoccupied since early December. Residents said the sounds were last heard on Jan 12.
Residents told The Straits Times that they believe the alarm clocks have been set by the owner of that unit. However, ST’s attempts to contact the owner were unsuccessful.
When ST visited the unit on Jan 13, a property agent was conducting viewings there. The person denied that the sounds came from the property.
Sara K., 26, who rents a room in Block 55 near the source of the noise, said the loud ringing woke her up at 6am on some days.
“I would leave the house and still hear the ringing in my head,” added K., who works in tech and resorted to using noise-cancelling earphones.
The sound, which varied in volume but was loud most times, started on Dec 3.
K. was overseas from mid-December to Jan 6 and was dismayed to find the noise still ongoing when she returned.
“Wouldn’t an alarm clock run out of battery?” she said.
Tamzin Adriaanse, 35, a South African who moved into a co-living unit in Block 55 in October, said the noise put a damper on her stay.
It was also a disturbance when her mother visited her for two weeks in December.
“I thought I could ignore it and, hopefully, it would go away. I work from home so I try my best to block it out,” said the personal assistant, who typically heard the noise around five times a day.
P.C. Chia, 45, who lives in Block 56, said the kitchen area of the unit he lives in faces the back alley where the sound originated. He said some of the alarms were “extra loud” – as if they were coming from outside a unit, rather than inside.
According to Chia, who is a freelancer, the sounds mainly occurred in 12-hour intervals and went off up to eight times a day.
“If I hear a 2pm alarm, I will be dreading another at 2am,” he said.
Chia and his partner filed three police reports on the matter.
Danielle V., 31, who works in advertising, called the police on Jan 10 after hearing the alarm at around 1am.
She said that when the police arrived, they shone a torchlight at the unit from the back alley, which triggered a loud siren-like sound that was different from the usual alarm.
“(The alarm) has been going on for more than a month, and it’s quite disruptive, so I hope it would be resolved soon,” she added.
In response to ST queries, a spokesman for Tanjong Pagar Town Council said on Jan 14 that the council and relevant agencies, including the Housing Board and police, are aware of the residents’ concerns and are conducting investigations.
Blocks 55 and 56 are among flats built by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to the HDB.
Built in 1967, the three-storey walk-up flats are among 20 blocks given conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2003 to preserve their art deco architecture and unique features.
Tiong Bahru recently made the headlines after two HDB blocks narrowly missed a 75 per cent threshold for the Home Improvement Programme, disappointing some residents. - The Straits Times/ANN
