But that has not stopped loan sharks from disturbing the peace and quiet of his Jurong neighbourhood after his neighbour lost his identity card two years ago.
First, his neighbour's house was splashed with paint several times.
When that failed to compel the neighbour to pay up for what he did not owe, the loan shark sent chilling letters threatening to splash paint or set fire to neighbouring units.
This made Mr A Chiam, 35, an engineer, worried because his five-room flat is right next door to his neighbour's flat.
He then installed CCTVs outside his and his neighbour's flats.
But that did not scare them off.
On Dec 1, the loan shark sent a letter taunting them: "Don't think your house got camera we don't dare to do."
To drive home the point, the letter came with images of different flats being vandalised.
Said Mr Chiam: "I'm living in a nice environment with good neighbours, then this type of thing starts happening in my neighbourhood.
"It's very disturbing and scary that they are using this kind of tactic to break this kind of harmony that we have."
As he lives with his wife and two young children aged three and seven, he's worried for the safety of his family.
He contemplated moving out, but decided against it.
"Why should I move? I don't think I should move out because of this illegal loan shark when I have such wonderful neighbours," he said.
There's also the concern over the value of his property.
Added Mr Chiam: "Who would buy this house if they knew there was this kind of thing going around?" His concern is not unfounded.
At a time when home owners are demanding cash-over-valuation (COV) in the tens of thousands, there are flats that make no demands for COV.
The seller had insisted that Mr Cheah tell prospective buyers of the flat's history of being a target of loan shark harassment.
The flat had become a target after the seller's mother became a guarantor for a friend who had borrowed from loan sharks, said Mr Cheah.
When the person failed to pay, loan shark runners came to splash paint on the unit's front door and the unit's number was scribbled on walls.
Although the last incident of loan shark harassment took place two years ago, Mr Cheah said that the seller, a security guard in his 40s, insisted that he share this information with all prospective buyers so they could make an informed decision.
Added Mr Cheah: "Out of 50 callers, 10 eventually came to view. About eight of them were very keen. But when I mentioned about the ah long (loan shark) case, all eight didn't want the flat."
The initial COV of $18,000 was lowered to $10,000 after two weeks.
Still, no one took up the offer and it was further lowered to zero COV after a week.
The flat was eventually sold on Dec 18 to a divorced mother with four children who was on a tight budget and in need of a place to live because of her family situation.
Said Mr Cheah: "He's trying to be honest, but he's being penalised for it. I think he could have easily gotten $20,000 more for the COV, which is not a small amount for a guy who earns about $1,500 a month."
A check on HDB's website showed that the median COV for resale flats registered in the third quarter of this year for a three-room flat in Tampines was $33,000.
Buying such flats means that you may inherit the problem, warned real estate agents.
Said Mr Aaron Lin, a group director at Dennis Wee Group: "Whether it's lower or no COV, it's not worth the money. It's going to be a lifelong problem. Do you want people to come and harass you everyday?"
For Mr Chiam, who does not intend to sell his place at this moment, he hopes more can be done to address the issue of loan-shark harassment.
Although there's been enforcement on the matter and the Moneylenders Act has been toughened to deal with harassment, Mr Chiam felt that it has not got to the core of the problem.
He asked if more can be done at the community level to tackle the issue and whether laws need to be tougher on loan shark syndicates.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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