3 elderly siblings live in cluttered Toa Payoh flat, volunteers helping to clear mess

Cluttered flat in Toa Payoh gives off a stench detectable from doorway

For about 20 years, three elderly siblings have been living in a cluttered flat in Toa Payoh, with nobody to rely on except one another.

Though the flat is already untidy enough, the second sister adds to the mess by collecting cardboard daily to make ends meet, she told Shin Min Daily News.

Siblings live difficult lives in cluttered Toa Payoh flat

78-year-old Madam Ou Yayang (transliterated from Mandarin) told the paper that she lives in the unit in Block 105 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh with her older brother, 87, and their 67-year-old younger brother.

When their parents were alive, the family squeezed into a two-room flat, and their lives were difficult, she said.

But after their parents passed away, the siblings’ lives have become even worse.

As her older brother has heart problems, he relies on her for caregiving.

She even has to bring him to the hospital for treatment every few months, a process that is challenging as she is elderly herself.

As all three of the siblings are single, they do not have any other family members to take care of them, she added.

Sister collects cardboard daily to earn up to S$7

Every day, Mdm Ou collects cardboard from nearby coffeeshops and pushes it around in a cart, making several trips a day.

As she sells it for about 6 cents per kilogram, she earns only about S$6 to S$7 a day, no matter how much she works.

That amount allows her to buy essentials like shampoo and shower gel, while she relies on the kindness of coffeeshop vendors for food.

When Shin Min reporters visited her at 10pm recently, Mdm Ou had just stumbled home with a cart full of cardboard, her eyes tinged with fatigue.

She explained that she had to collect cardboard till midnight every day and did not dare to relax, or she would struggle to make ends meet.

Toa Payoh flat reportedly so cluttered that it attracted rats

Reporters observed that a faint stench wafted out of the flat, detectable from the doorway.

The living room was so cluttered that it was difficult to find space to walk.

The situation was so bad that the flat had attracted rats, which crept into the corridor.

A next-door neighbour said the rats appeared in the corridor almost daily, and the frequent smell of urine from his neighbour forced him to keep his doors and windows shut.

His elderly mother, who is in a wheelchair, also had trouble moving down the corridor due to the rubbish blocking the way.

He was concerned that they would be unable to escape if a fire broke out.

Mdm Ou admitted that the clutter had been a problem for decades, but she had been unable to do something about it, although she wanted to.

Volunteers helping to clear the flat

Fortunately, charity organisation Helping Joy is stepping in to help clear the mess.

On Sunday (7 Sept), its volunteers arrived at the flat at 9am, armed with cleaning supplies such as disinfectant, rags, buckets, sweepers and insecticide.

Its founder, Steven Goh, 47, told Shin Min that about 35 volunteers took part in the operation.

It was observed that there was so much trash in the flat that more than 10 volunteers had to form a human chain to pass trash bags down the stairs.

Some of the volunteers also used carts to bring trash down by the lift.

The clean-up was still in progress as of press time.

In a Facebook post on 1 Sept, Helping Joy appealed to the public for donations of cash, plastic drawers or a kitchen stove cabinet door for the family. Those interested in joining as a volunteer may also comment on their Facebook post.

Also read: Elderly hoarder lives alone in heavily cluttered Bedok Reservoir flat, showers at coffee shop

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Featured image adapted from Helping Joy on Facebook.