Toa Payoh resident's Xmas decor gets the green light

SINGAPORE - A Toa Payoh resident will get to keep the makeshift Christmas lighting and other decorations that he has put up outside his Housing Board ground-floor unit.

For the past three years, Martin Silva's glittering patios have become a meeting point for residents during the festive season, with some queuing to have their pictures taken there. But they have also got him into trouble with the town council.

Mr Silva, 57, told a video team from The Straits Times earlier this week that he was fined several times by the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council for unauthorised use of public space, and that his Christmas scene might have to be taken down. The video drew an outpouring of support from netizens on the newspaper's Facebook page.

Zainudin Nordin, a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has helped to resolve the issue.

The MP said on his Facebook page yesterday that, following a meeting with the citizens' consultative committee and residents' committee, the makeshift Christmas structures and decorations will remain so long as Mr Silva agrees to keep the area open for community use.

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, Mr Silva said the decision was a step in the right direction to bring back the "kampung spirit".

He said he will not be claiming the fines paid to the town council, which amount to $2,200 over the past three years. "They were a small price to pay to achieve what we have done," he said.

Photo Gallery:

Spreading Christmas spirit in Toa Payoh

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Toa Payoh resident's Xmas decor gets the green light