Man Living In Rubbish Centre Has Repeatedly Turned Down HDB’s Help

Cleaner Claims He Has Been Staying There For Almost 2 Years

The Internet has been abuzz with the story of a Singaporean cleaner who claims to be living in a rubbish collection centre.

His story came to light after a netizen took a video of his less-than-desirable living conditions.

The video was uploaded on Facebook and has since gone viral.

But not everything that the cleaner says is true, claims the Housing & Development Board (HDB).

Addressing statements that HDB had refused to give him a rental flat, the Board said,

Mr R First applied for a rental flat last year.

Although he did not meet the criteria (as his wife and children are non-singapore citizens), we were prepared to help him with rental housing. However, he did not proceed with the application.

The statement refutes a common online narrative that HDB was not helping a Singaporean in need.

Cleaner from Ghim Moh

In case you haven’t watched the video, here’s a quick summary.

The video starts off with the cleaner introducing himself and the events that led to him living in a rubbish collection centre.

Here’s a gist of what he said:

• The man is a Singaporean citizen
• He works as a cleaner in the Ghim Moh estate and currently lives in a rubbish collection centre in the same estate
• He recently returned from Indonesia and has no proper house
• Despite help from the Town Council and his Member of Parliament, HDB refused to grant him a flat. As mentioned earlier, HDB has refuted this. According to the Board, the cleaner turned down its offer to rent a flat under the Joint Singles Scheme.
• The man has been homeless for close to 2 years
• His current ‘flat’ is a temporary, while waiting for HDB to grant him a rental flat
• The man suffers from respiratory and cardiac issues
• He was discharged just a day before the filming of the video

Dumpster tour

The cleaner later gave a tour of his living quarters, located at the back of a rubbish collection centre.

The entrance to his ‘flat’ was modest — a brown wooden door kept locked with a rusty bolt lock.

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A washing area was also seen next to the his ‘room’, but no toilet was in sight.

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His actual living quarters was comparable to a 1-room HDB flat, without the toilet.

Close to half of his ‘room’ was occupied by a single bed.

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Other miscellaneous household items – 2 television sets, 2 fans, and a fridge – can also be seen lying around the room.

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The condition of these electronic items remain unknown.

Hope he finds a new place soon!

In a post on Facebook, HDB revealed that it would be offering the cleaner temporary rental housing as an interim measure. He will be moving into the interim rental flat next week.

We at MS News wish the cleaner all the best in his new place!

Featured image from Facebook and Google Maps.