Mr Teo Chee Hean
Blk 738 Pasir Ris Drive 10
#01-21
Singapore 510738
Dear Sir,
Is There Going To Be A Resolution?
1. What do you want done? Prevent the neighbour from continuing to work in HDB flat, allow the refund to CPF Ordinary Account from date of sale of flat, correct the mistakes made in CPF Life and remind people who are aware of the problem that all rectification is made where possible.
2. Is there a problem? Where is the proof? The neighbour should be investigated, they caused noise through the working of a trade in HDB flat. There are documents that refund to CPF Accounts are required and documents that show mistakes were made in CPF Life. These were the reasons why officers would not address the various issues raised.
3. You said the problem began in 1998, did you bring it up? I wrote to HDB Branch Office and the occupier was evicted, but the problem was only part resolved. I met MPs from 2008 onwards when the noise restarted in 2007, started a blog in 2009 and later wrote to various government departments.
4. How did noise from the neighbour to do with your CPF Accounts and CPF Life? The neighbour was able to continue with their work in HDB flat because of an arrangement with officers. It was my continuing complaint that let officers with connection to cause all sorts of trouble.
5. What’s with the officers? A relationship with the neighbour over a long period of time caused the officers to protect themselves at a cost of protecting the neighbour. I was sure of a forced-entry at the neighbour’s flat but they managed to turn against me by preventing further investigation of the neighbour’s flat and my flat through the stationing of people in the flat across the neighbour.
6. Couldn’t MPs help? There isn’t always a clear line between what is administration and what is execution between government departments and MPs. MPs in Parliament make laws, which are executory in nature. But government departments also give advice, which are political in nature, that they then execute. It is a gray area that government departments sometimes do not carry out or delay instruction from MP.
For example, the Minister in charge of Civil Service and Head of Civil Service were reported to have said about “complex issues no longer fell within neat domain” and “issues that do not fall neatly into any one agency's work” respectively. It is likely they were referring to my problem because the police did not carry out a full investigation when informed of the people in the flat across the neighbour.
7. What do you think is the underlying problem? Power dominates and represses when not used in the public interest.
8. Is there nothing you could do? I did what I can. I don’t think it is practical to make the case an issue in an election or win the case against the government in court.
9. What did you do? Because mainstream and social media did not report the complaint, I informed people, civil societies and news agencies of my blog through emails.
10. Who and which civil societies and news agencies? There were some, but if you were to give me the address of credible persons and entities I would email them.
11. Was it to any effect? Except for indirect references, it has not affected the case in any way.
12. Your case is neither complex nor difficult to understand, isn’t it a simple case of noise from the neighbour? Why do you think the case remains unresolved over a long period of time? I agree, but because it involves officers the problem is made inaccessible. We are back to the underlying problem of power or the struggle for power.
13. What could be done? Openness, accountability, taking unpopular measure. Doing, not just saying. Leading change.
14. What do you think is important? Fair mindedness.
15. I may be in a salaried position, fair mindedness may not be to my advantage? Generally a situation is made better when it is for the common good or you serve the public interest. You are not selfish. A note: a sortition system minimises corruption.
16. What is sortition? Random and stratified sampling techniques to choose persons who deliberate and evaluate the measure in question. The system is practised in places around the world.
17. What is common good or public interest? What in your case is in the public interest? Causing damage to thing or causing harm to person, whether physically or psychologically, is against common good or public interest. In my case allowing a trade in housing flat and deliberately causing trouble just before and after I sold my flat were clearly against rules and regulations. These were crimes and there was a victim. If nothing is done, these will affect others in similar circumstances. It is therefore in the public interest to stop and prevent such from happening.
18. Do you think your problem is going to be resolved? I think if I insist on an investigation by Parliament, the case may be held in suspension because of the negative publicity it will generate. If government departments are asked to resolve it, they may not address the various issues just as they had not addressed the issues before unless there is a complete change of personnel.
19. Will you continue to attend Meet-the-People Session conducted by MP? Yes, if there is a chance the complaint will be addressed. There is no other course of action. It is the job of MP to resolve the issue.
20. Why did you not attend Meet-the-People Session conducted by opposition party? I could bring them trouble because they do not have strength in numbers. Any MP could bring up the issue in Parliament because it can be generalised. The issue is quite clear.
21. You are referring to the representation of MPs? Yes, MPs have a certain degree of responsibility to speak and act in our names.
22. Is there something lacking? In the case, there are two. The rule of law and the meaning of being human.
The Q & A are the various issues of the case.
How is the case going to be resolved?
Yours Sincerely,
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Observation
Before handing over the letter Q & A (75) at Meet-the-People Session, I gave Mr Teo two reasons why there should be an investigation by Parliament:
1) How many cases of working a trade in HDB flat that officers know of where no action is taken? Unless there is a thorough investigation of the case, which is possible with the 7 sets of documents in Salient Points (40) that was submitted, we will never know the full extent of the problem. Most of us live in HDB flats and there were frequent complaints of noise.
An officer, who visited me, asked what I thought the neighbour upstairs was doing and I said fashion accessories or jewellery. He agreed. Also refer to the first two paragraphs of Discovery (9), Singapore Mint was reported to say the jewellery market was lucrative and was considering local distributors to represent it and the experience of noise from a participant on BlogTV.
2) Is there any legal procedure that prevents heads of department from taking action when their officers commit wrongdoing? If so, why is it so? There are many such examples in Salient Points (40). For an example, the police did not conduct a full investigation of the neighbour and the people in the flat across the neighbour when informed. Also, there was no reply to the letter Mr Teo wrote to the police after Inquiry (27). Similarly Bedok Police Division did not reply when the case was referred to them a second time in Standpoint (34) Item 16.
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