Being locked out of your home after returning from a vacation is an absolute nightmare for any person. But for a German lawyer residing in Singapore, almost losing two of his precious fur babies was an even greater horror.
German Expat Returns From Family Trip Unable to Enter House Due to Rent Dispute
50-year-old German expat Wolfram Gunther moved to Singapore in September 2021 to treat his daughter’s scoliosis. During that time, he adopted two cats, a calico cat named Brownie and a grey tabby cat named Olaf.
On 2 August 2023, Gunther and his family returned from a trip to France in July. Before Gunther left, he had engaged a pet-sitter to look after his two cats. This is a very common practice for cat owners, as cats don’t like staying in other places (i.e. pet hotel) that they’re not used to.
Upon reaching his apartment located in Somerset condominium, The Suites@Central, Gunther found that his keycard to his house was not working. The condo management notified him and his family that the landlord had revoked their keycard access, locking the family out and trapping their cats in the apartment.
In an interview with Shin Min Daily New, Gunther said there was an ongoing rent dispute with the landlord but declined to reveal any further details.
Further research by Shin Min Daily Ne revealed that the monthly rent in The Suites@Central can be as high as $12,000 per month.
As a result, Gunther’s family resorted to finding different hotels to stay at before finding a house to live in temporarily.
For four days after Gunther’s return to Singapore, he could not retrieve his pet cats as his owner had barred the family from accessing the apartment.
While the owner had allegedly promised the family to allow the pet-sitter to continue looking after the cats, security informed the pet-sitter that she was no longer permitted to enter the apartment.
Worried about the welfare of his cats, Gunther made a police report. After some discussion with the security guards, the police officers reportedly scattered cat food through the gap at the bottom of the door and splashed water on the ground to feed the cats.
While the landlord later promised to send someone to look after the cats on 6 August, he failed to keep the end of his promise.
As a last resort, Gunther had to seek help from the Animal and Veterinary Services (AVS).
During an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Jessica Kwok, AVS Group’s group director, said the authorities rescued the cats on 7 August to ensure their safety. She also confirmed that Brownie and Olaf are being cared for by the authorities and have been found to be in good health.
Currently, investigations into pet neglect are still ongoing.