Bayside residents in court to stop Club Oba

Club Oba, an open-air bar, is located in close proximity to the towers at 191 Western Main Road.

With Senior Magistrate, Lianne Lee Kim presiding, and Joe Pires and supporters of Club Oba in attendance in the courtroom, attorney Deborah Peake, supported by Gillian Lucky, led the battle for the Bayside Towers residents.

Brian Powell, a retired economist who lives at the Towers with his wife, was the first witness to take the stand.

He told the court that the unbearable noise coming from bands and loudspeakers at Club Oba has forced him to attempt to sell the expensive apartment. He said the vibration from the boom boxes at the open air facility makes him miserable, and he is forced to wear earplugs.

However, during cross-examination of the witness, attorney Keith Scotland, appearing for the owners of Club Oba, told Powell that birthdays, weddings, and other functions are organised by the residents of the Towers, and asked him if the music bothers him.

Next to take the witness box was Sandra Chin Yen Kee, another Bayside Towers resident. Dressed in a white skirt suit, she said she has resided at the Towers for the last six and a half years with her husband, a doctor.

Chin Yen Kee took the argument in a new direction when she told the court that she actually saw land being reclaimed at 191 Western Main Road for the construction of Club Oba.

She said she went to the Lands and Surveys Department and found that the owners had not obtained a State lease for the land. However, Chin Yen Kee admitted that the information had not been confirmed after Scotland argued that such information was hearsay.

Things became heated when Magistrate Peake said Scotland’s behaviour was very offensive, at which Scotland became very offended.

The case had started at mid-morning and continued way after lunch, with only a brief break.

At 2 pm, Bayside Towers resident, Sandra Ramkherrysingh, dressed in a smart moss-green suit, took the stand. She told the court that the loud, obtrusive noise coming from Club Oba has interfered with her lifestyle.

She said before the establishment of the bar, she had been known for entertaining guests, but has now been forced to give that up.

The matter has been adjourned to today.