Moving into Oxley Road 10 years ago, Katrina, a mother of 4, found out she was living so close to Singapore's founding father, who lived in lot 38.
Almost every Sunday while Mr Lee was alive, she would see Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong drive past to visit....
But the Lee family kept mostly to themselves and she rarely saw them.
The only times they saw the late Mr Lee was when his car passed by.
She said: "He would always smile and wave back to us."
Mr Lee's daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling, still lives at 38, Oxley Road, and Katrina does occasionally see her.
Katrina let on a bit of insider information only a long-time resident like her would know.
Leaning in and almost whispering, she said: "If you notice, there are no windows that can face into (lot) 38 - it is not allowed.
Even the house right beside it, there are blinds that I heard must not be opened."
The strict security extended beyond these windows.
Of the four speed humps found along the road, two are straddled by the remains of the barriers that used to block road access when the late Mr Lee was home - a testament to how Oxley Road was once arguably the most secure road in Singapore.
"It was very safe, and we were blessed to be on a road that had so much protection," said Katrina.
"The Gurkha guards outside the late Mr Lee's home were alert. If a car passed by more than twice, they would be stopped and questioned."
Telephone conversations between Katrina's family and the officers were an almost daily affair because security was so tight.
She said that whenever the family came home and turned on their lights, without fail, the phone would ring and the security officers at lot 38 would call.
"They would check if it was us and not someone who had broken in," she said.
The family would also alert the officers whenever they had gatherings or big groups of guests.
Life changed for Katrina's family after Mr Lee died on March 23, 2015.
The gradual scaling down of security meant that they had to set up better safeguards for their own home.
They had security cameras and surveillance equipment installed and realised how "blessed" they had been previously.
She said: "It is not like that any more, we need to be more vigilant."
Source: TNP
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