“Ban Brewing of Herbal Soup in HDB Flats, My Neighbour Brews Soup Every Day and It’s Making Me Ill”

AH KUN: I don’t know what type of herbal soup the neighbour staying one floor below me brews every day, but the foul stench of the brew is making me ill. It happens every morning at about 6.30 and that’s the smell that I wake up to every day without fail. It makes me nauseous and totally ruins my day. The soup smell also sticks on my laundry and I’ve to put on extra cologne or go to work smelling like a walking Chinese medicine shop.

My wife is the “everything nehmind lah” kind of person, but I think she is also feeling a bit off with that strong awful odour permeating through the house if we leave the windows open. We have to turn on the air-con every night otherwise we will suffer in the morning. I think it’s affecting our morning sex life too.

I want to lodge a complaint with the HDB, but I’m afraid that this will cause disharmony and even possibly revenge attacks because who knows the neighbour might brew some even stronger stuff that will make me want to jump off the building! You heard of the Everitt Road incident last time where the neighbours attack each other? I’m trying to avoid that kind of situation.

Is there a way that I can do this tactfully and not make it out to be some kind of personal attack? Please don’t ask me to move house because I just moved a couple of months back, and I had no idea about this foul-smelling soup cook because no one in the right mind goes for house-viewing at 6.30 in the morning.

I think the government should ban all these kinds of soup from being cooked in HDB flats because the smell itself is lethal and is causes distress to neighbours. Since we are all staying together, we should spare a thought for each others’ feelings and health.

Thanks Ah Kun for this letter.
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