If you think I broke the law, why not call the police?

Have you ever been told that you are not allowed to take photos of the facade of a condominium? Well, it happened to me last evening.

I ate too much and decided to go for a walk to work off some calories in the evening. I walked past a condominium with a nice water feature at the entrance. I took out my phone to take a photo of the water feature and suddenly felt a strong beam of white light in my eyes.

Then, I heard someone shouting but I couldn't make out the words. I looked around and saw a fat, Indian lady wearing a security guard uniform in the guard house which was set probably about 20 meters from the entrance. She was shouting something at me and waving a strong light in my direction.

I cupped one of my ears and said loudly, "I can't hear you!"

She walked out of the guard house and came closer. I had the presence of mind not to walk towards her. I wouldn't want to be accused of trespassing on private property, after all. I remained standing on the public pavement. When she was closer to me, she spoke in an authoritative voice, "No photo taking of condo allowed!"

That gave me a shock largely because it was such an outlandish demand. I have never been stopped by anyone from taking photos of a building's facade in Singapore before. Anyway, I recovered quickly and asked her where was the sign to say photo taking was prohibited? She said there was no sign but she was telling me that I was not allowed to take photos.

I told her that the demand was unreasonable and that it would never stand in a court of law. If I felt like it, I could take as many photos as I liked. I was standing on public land taking photo of the condo's facade. I did not trespass on private property.

Then, she warned me that the condo CCTV was recording the encounter. That got to me and I told her that she could call the police, if she felt like it, since she obviously thought I did something wrong. I think she got a surprise when I said that. She challenged me to call the police instead, turned around and walked away.

怪事每年有, 今年特别多!

As I was walking away, I wondered what kind of MCST would issue such an order since I supposed the guards were following instructions? Maybe, I should call my realtor and arrange for a viewing of some of the units which have been put up for sale or rental. A quick check online revealed quite a few units available.

Would the guards stop me from taking photos of the grounds, the facade or even the guardhouse then? I wonder.

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