Toa Payoh Lift’s “No Ads Allowed” Sign Gets Buried In Flyers; S’poreans Question Effectiveness Of Signs In The First Place

Flyers in the lifts of new BTO flats were a recent topic of discussion among Singapore netizens after a Reddit user shared a photo showing the inside of a lift in a Toa Payoh estate.

The lift, which presumably services a new BTO block of flats, is completely smothered with advertisement flyers from companies that provide moving, reno and home decor services... and one interesting notice.  

“Absolutely NO advertisements allowed inside the lift, folks,” read a sign in the middle of the mess.

“If you decide to sneak one in, consider this your friendly warning. There’ll be penalties involved. However, you’re welcome to display your notices on the lift lobby notice board that we’ve thoughtfully provided for you.”

Seeing the situation, the OP opined: “What’s the purpose of putting [a] warning when you can’t enforce it.”

Netizens were tickled by the sight. Some said it’s funny ‘cos “it literally happens every time”, while others shared they’ve seen the exact same thing happen at their BTO blocks.

One commenter also joked the companies pasting the ads saw the warning, and simply went “challenge accepted”.

The photo also triggered a conversation on the actual effectiveness of such signs.

“[It’s] honestly an apt photo of how powerless the system actually is,” asserted one netizen while another brought up the issue of how people boldly ignore “no smoking” and “no parking” signs as well.

“It is not "do and don't get caught" but more like "do and won't get caught" these days,” they added.

Some guessed the sign was put up to simply placate the residents that complained, while another HDB resident shared that they would take it upon themselves to remove the flyers. “If we cannot stop them from pasting ads in the lift, they cannot stop us from peeling them off,” they said.

A number laughed at how the sign was granted a little bit of respect since there was yet anyone who dared to cover it with their own flyer.

Despite the criticism, a netizen also guessed that the warning of “penalties” mentioned in the sign would now get enforced due to the attention the post has received.