Fishy frolic ends in court

A LOCAL woman who thought her neighbor's renovations very fishy has wound up taking the neighbor to court.

Ma Huilin lives on the 12th floor of a residential building in Huangpu District. Her upstairs neighbor, Shen Lidong, renovated his apartment late last year and while he was doing this built a large aquarium on his balcony.

Ma's bedroom, alas, is right beneath the aquarium and since it was built she has been petrified that the 13-square-meter aquarium with all of the water and the fish will collapse through her ceiling and onto her bed.

So it was yesterday that Ma asked the Huangpu District People's Court to tell her fish loving neighbor to remove the aquarium and give her 10,000 yuan (US$1,350) in compensation.

Ma's lawyer told the court the sound of the aquarium and the constant worry about leaks and a collapsed ceiling have caused a great deal of stress to Ma and her family.

She asked the building's management company to help but it could not get an agreement between the two parties and so it was that she turned up in court yesterday.

Shen is indeed a fish lover growing some very large expensive carp. He said he takes every precaution he can to stop leaks, controlling the water level so that it is always eight centimeters below the top of the tank.

A report from the building's engineers said the weight and the structure of the aquarium are entirely within the government guidelines.

Having heard the evidence and after Ma refused court mediation, the court will announce its verdict later.