Woman defaces own home to spite mum-in-law
Unrepentant daughter-in-law la mei says she can do what she wants to her own home
By Crystal Chan
IT'S not unusual to come across friction between two women living under the same roof when one is the daughter-in-law of the other.
SHOCK: Madam Ng's mother-in-law said she was insulted by the drawings. PICTURES: LIANHE WANBAO
But in this rather extreme case, the daughter-in-law was so enraged that she defaced her own flat in Tampines.
Her graffiti referred to the mother-in-law as a witch and wished her an early death.
Scrawled on the fours walls and ceilings were messages such as 'Go and die', 'Better that you die early', and 'Welcome to Hell' in a mixture of Chinese and English.
There was also a sketch of a face which was meant to depict the elderly woman as a witch.
Madam Jamie Ng, 32, a housewife who has two daughters with her ex-boyfriend, told The New Paper on Sunday last night that her mother-in-law had disliked her and her children from the start.
Her daughters are 15 and 13 years old. She also has a son, 4, and a daughter, 2, with her present husband.
It did not help that her ex-boyfriend has continued to visit them.
Madam Ng admitted that she was responsible for most of the graffiti.
But she was unrepentant, saying: 'This is my house. I can do whatever I want.'
She had been sore about her mother-in-law's remarks after visits by her ex-boyfriend.
But the flashpoint was when her sisters-in-law, with whom she's not on good terms, visited their mother.
She refused to let them in, but when her mother-in-law opened the door for them, she lost it and started vandalising her own home.
'I don't welcome my sisters-in-law. So when they came visiting that day, I defaced the walls in a fit of anger,' she said.
The mother-in-law, 72, told Lianhe Wanbao that she felt very insulted by Madam Ng's actions.
Giving her side of the incident, she said that about a week ago, she was unable to squat and wash the laundry by hand the way she normally does.
So her two daughters turned up to help her.
'I was in my room and my daughter-in-law was watching TV in the living room with my step-granddaughters,' she said.
'But they didn't bother opening the door for my daughters who were left waiting outside.
MESS: The children's toys were all over the floor and the walls were covered with graffiti.
'They had to call me on my phone to tell me to open the door for them.'
She said that when she walked out of her room, she got a shock.
The kids' toys were strewn about on the floor. The hall was in a mess.
Said the mum-in-law: 'They (her daughter-in-law and her step-granddaughters) always address me as the old witch. Those messages on the wall were obviously intended for me.
'Once, we had a decent home. Do you think it looks like a home now?
Rude
She alleged that Madam Ng had taught her daughters to be rude to her.
Madam Ng said: 'My children have always called my husband's mother 'por por' (Cantonese for grandmother) but she always scolds them for no reason, so I told them to call her a witch.'
She added: 'My mother-in-law asked if we wanted her to move out so my ex-boyfriend could stay with us. That was an insult.
'My ex-boyfriend is just trying to play his part as a father by taking the girls out and giving them pocket money, though he only does odd jobs.'
Madam Ng said she met her husband eight years ago in a lounge where she was working.
Her husband, 46, an air-con repairman who asked to be known as Mr Teo, said he accepted his wife's past.
He said: 'I treat her daughters like my own even though they take their biological father's surname.
'My mother objected to my marriage but I went ahead anyway.'
On seeing the graffiti when he got home, he quarrelled with his wife.
He said: 'I felt her reaction was extreme. There was no need to deface the flat even if she was angry with my mum and sisters.'
Mr Teo later spent more than an hour cleaning the walls.
When The New Paper on Sunday visited the family last night, the witch sketch was there.
To avoid further friction, Mr Teo has asked his mother to move in with his sisters.
He said: 'The less my wife sees my mum, the less friction there'll be in my home.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,188081,00.html?
Unrepentant daughter-in-law la mei says she can do what she wants to her own home
By Crystal Chan
IT'S not unusual to come across friction between two women living under the same roof when one is the daughter-in-law of the other.
SHOCK: Madam Ng's mother-in-law said she was insulted by the drawings. PICTURES: LIANHE WANBAO
But in this rather extreme case, the daughter-in-law was so enraged that she defaced her own flat in Tampines.
Her graffiti referred to the mother-in-law as a witch and wished her an early death.
Scrawled on the fours walls and ceilings were messages such as 'Go and die', 'Better that you die early', and 'Welcome to Hell' in a mixture of Chinese and English.
There was also a sketch of a face which was meant to depict the elderly woman as a witch.
Madam Jamie Ng, 32, a housewife who has two daughters with her ex-boyfriend, told The New Paper on Sunday last night that her mother-in-law had disliked her and her children from the start.
Her daughters are 15 and 13 years old. She also has a son, 4, and a daughter, 2, with her present husband.
It did not help that her ex-boyfriend has continued to visit them.
Madam Ng admitted that she was responsible for most of the graffiti.
But she was unrepentant, saying: 'This is my house. I can do whatever I want.'
She had been sore about her mother-in-law's remarks after visits by her ex-boyfriend.
But the flashpoint was when her sisters-in-law, with whom she's not on good terms, visited their mother.
She refused to let them in, but when her mother-in-law opened the door for them, she lost it and started vandalising her own home.
'I don't welcome my sisters-in-law. So when they came visiting that day, I defaced the walls in a fit of anger,' she said.
The mother-in-law, 72, told Lianhe Wanbao that she felt very insulted by Madam Ng's actions.
Giving her side of the incident, she said that about a week ago, she was unable to squat and wash the laundry by hand the way she normally does.
So her two daughters turned up to help her.
'I was in my room and my daughter-in-law was watching TV in the living room with my step-granddaughters,' she said.
'But they didn't bother opening the door for my daughters who were left waiting outside.
MESS: The children's toys were all over the floor and the walls were covered with graffiti.
'They had to call me on my phone to tell me to open the door for them.'
She said that when she walked out of her room, she got a shock.
The kids' toys were strewn about on the floor. The hall was in a mess.
Said the mum-in-law: 'They (her daughter-in-law and her step-granddaughters) always address me as the old witch. Those messages on the wall were obviously intended for me.
'Once, we had a decent home. Do you think it looks like a home now?
Rude
She alleged that Madam Ng had taught her daughters to be rude to her.
Madam Ng said: 'My children have always called my husband's mother 'por por' (Cantonese for grandmother) but she always scolds them for no reason, so I told them to call her a witch.'
She added: 'My mother-in-law asked if we wanted her to move out so my ex-boyfriend could stay with us. That was an insult.
'My ex-boyfriend is just trying to play his part as a father by taking the girls out and giving them pocket money, though he only does odd jobs.'
Madam Ng said she met her husband eight years ago in a lounge where she was working.
Her husband, 46, an air-con repairman who asked to be known as Mr Teo, said he accepted his wife's past.
He said: 'I treat her daughters like my own even though they take their biological father's surname.
'My mother objected to my marriage but I went ahead anyway.'
On seeing the graffiti when he got home, he quarrelled with his wife.
He said: 'I felt her reaction was extreme. There was no need to deface the flat even if she was angry with my mum and sisters.'
Mr Teo later spent more than an hour cleaning the walls.
When The New Paper on Sunday visited the family last night, the witch sketch was there.
To avoid further friction, Mr Teo has asked his mother to move in with his sisters.
He said: 'The less my wife sees my mum, the less friction there'll be in my home.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,188081,00.html?
