imgur.com/gallery/uH8QnqP

Its not supposed to do that.

wth is causing that?

oh, now I notice the sparks... Some kind of really bad electrical job that somehow caused the short circuit to manifest in the... sink? o_O

yeah - I really don't know why its arcing purple either... could be something in the camera's settings.

I suspect the lower pipe was earthed, and the sink had become live somehow.

Then the water starts leaking out of the U bend so I wonder if it was sealed with goop that kept the two pipes apart electrically, but as the dirty water sat in there it may have bridged more and more over time.

Would PVC drainpipe have been better, potentially hiding the problem for years? Or better that it was clearly obvious now ?

I'd say "neither, just do it right" personally :)))

I'd be afraid to touch the knobs on the water tap at this point :x

man, that's one interesting problem to solve :D

Has anyone been scammed by a plumber before? Well just last week I realized I have lol

The tap aerator broke and I realized that the quality of the tap that the plumber replaced was such cheap quality. He actually used a bathroom sink tap in replacement for a kitchen sink tap...like why? I am no expert in plumbing and trades in general and I was wondering whether anyone knows any resources that can help me learn the basics of plumbing, carpentry, etc. Thx!