00:00I live in Asia, in a capital city, where old homes clash against rising high-rises,
00:13the kind of place where neighbors aren't always what they seem.
00:17The house I bought? It was a steal, literally.
00:20A family friend who hadn't lived in the country for three years needed cash, fast.
00:26So I stepped in.
00:27The house was mid-renovation, held together by half-finished dreams and a rusty padlock on the front door.
00:34No gate. No security. Just open.
00:37From day one, things fell off.
00:40I walked into the garage, and someone else's bike was parked there.
00:43Not mine. Some random guy using my space like a public lot.
00:48I rolled it out to the road, and within hours, a man was banging at my gate.
00:53I didn't answer. Just watched from my window, as he gave up and took the bike.
00:59That was the first red flag.
01:01The second? People blocking my gate constantly, assuming the house was still abandoned.
01:07A quick no-parking sign fixed that, but it told me just how invisible this property had become to the neighborhood.
01:14They didn't respect it, or its new owner.
01:17And then came the water. It was just a normal night.
01:21I was in the shower, lathered up, relaxing, when the water pressure dipped.
01:25I mean seriously dipped.
01:27At the same moment, I heard a familiar whirring hum.
01:31A water pump.
01:32But not mine.
01:33It was coming from next door.
01:35That house belonged to an older man, crusty, bitter.
01:39He lived on the ground floor, and rented out the other two to tenants.
01:43He had been furious when the house was sold.
01:46According to my friends, the old owners, he'd been vocal, almost hostile.
01:51But I'm a six-foot guy, with three dogs.
01:54I wasn't exactly worried about him doing anything dumb.
01:58Still, hearing his pump while my water pressure plummeted?
02:01It didn't sit right.
02:03I waited.
02:04When his pump shut off, I turned on a tap.
02:06Water pressure, normal.
02:08Coincidence?
02:09Maybe.
02:10But that wasn't the only sign.
02:12See, even when the house was empty for three years, the water bills had been suspiciously high.
02:18Everyone assumed it was due to leaks in the old pipes.
02:22But now, I was starting to see the puzzle pieces click together.
02:26Imagine this.
02:27You just bought your home, fixed it up, started settling in.
02:31And now you realize your own neighbor has been stealing your water.
02:34Probably for years.
02:36Walking into your property, like it was his.
02:39Installing some hidden siphon and thinking.
02:41Eh, no one's around.
02:43It's mine now.
02:45It wasn't about the cost.
02:47Water's cheap here.
02:48Five bucks a month covers my dogs.
02:51The car, the garden.
02:52But it was about the principle.
02:54Resentment creeps in.
02:56It was about the audacity of someone thinking they had the right to take.
03:00Just because I wasn't looking.
03:02So, I made a choice.
03:04I didn't yell at him.
03:06Didn't confront him.
03:07Didn't even call the cops.
03:09I flicked a switch.
03:10Literally.
03:11On Monday, I waited.
03:13The moment his pump roared to life.
03:16I walked over to my main valve and turned it off.
03:19Silence.
03:20But not for long.
03:21Now, here's how these systems work in my country.
03:24Water is pumped to tanks on the roof.
03:27The tanks have ball valves that detect the water level.
03:31If there's no water coming in, the valve stays open, signaling the pump to keep going.
03:36Forever.
03:37Until something gives.
03:39That night, something gave.
03:41I thought maybe I'd burn out his pump.
03:43Maybe inconvenience his tenants.
03:45But I underestimated just how ancient and fragile his wiring was.
03:50The next thing I knew, it was 3 a.m.
03:52I heard murmurs, then shouting, lights flickering, doors opening, chaos.
03:59The tenants were livid.
04:00No water.
04:02No power.
04:03Just as building, dark in the middle of a glowing city street.
04:07The landlord, Mr. I deserve free water, stood helpless.
04:11And in our country, water and power aren't luxuries.
04:15They're legally protected essentials.
04:18Denying them can get you fined, sued, even charged.
04:21And his tenants didn't hold back.
04:24Two days later, one moved out entirely.
04:27The other filed a police complaint.
04:29Turns out, since the wiring hadn't been updated in decades,
04:33the overworked pump caused a full-blown electrical meltdown.
04:37And because he hadn't maintained the infrastructure,
04:40the law was clear.
04:41It was his responsibility.
04:43He was fined $500, which here is a small fortune.
04:47He had to refund both security deposits.
04:49Couldn't re-rent the units until everything was fixed.
04:53He had no income.
04:55And by the weekend, he was moving out.
04:57Packed his things and shuffled off to live with his daughter.
05:01But that's not the best part.
05:02He came by my gate one morning.
05:05Calm.
05:06Casual.
05:06Asked me,
05:07Did you turn off your water supply?
05:09I looked him dead in the eye and smiled.
05:12Oh, yeah, I said.
05:14Had a leak in one of the pipes.
05:16Plumber's coming tomorrow.
05:18His face didn't change, but his eyes did.
05:21You ever see someone clench their jaw behind a fake smile?
05:25He knew.
05:26He knew I knew.
05:27And he knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do.
05:30I wasn't breaking any laws.
05:32I didn't touch his property.
05:33All I did was stop giving him something that wasn't his in the first place.
05:39Next week, I'm getting a full plumbing inspection.
05:42Making sure there are no pipes leaving my boundary.
05:45No weak spots.
05:47No access.
05:48No mercy.
05:49What started as a hunch became one of the most satisfying wins of my life.
05:54Not because I wanted to ruin someone.
05:57But because someone tried to use me.
05:59Walk over me.
06:00And all it took was turning a tap.
06:02Walk over me.
06:03Walk over me.
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06:29Walk over me.
06:30Walk over me.
06:31Walk over me.
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