For the disabled, wheelchairs are necessary for providing ease of mobility. Having it removed with no prior warning can be a shocking load to bear.
This was the case for a resident in Yishun whose grandmother regularly uses a geriatric wheelchair. As it was valuable, they locked it in a bicycle rack at the void deck of their HDB block.
However, it went missing last November, only for the resident to find its parts dismantled in the rubbish dump. The resident demanded to know why the wheelchair was destroyed without prior notice.
In response to the incident, the Nee Soon Town Council reportedly said the wheelchair was destroyed due to miscommunication. The resident was offered a secondhand wheelchair as compensation.
Speaking to MS News, the Yishun resident, who requested to remain anonymous, shared that his family had kept his grandmother’s wheelchair at a bicycle rack in the void deck of Yishun Block 512A for the past five years.
This was for her ease of movement. The wheelchair also cost S$800. As such, the resident also kept it locked with a bicycle bar lock.
Image courtesy of Yishun resident
“When my grandma first needed this wheelchair, we bought and locked it in our lift lobby. But a difficult neighbour had complained to the (Nee Soon) Town Council.
“The town council issued a warning pasted on the wheelchair, claiming that it is a fire hazard and we should remove it. Otherwise, they would,” he said.
Given the difficult situation, the resident moved the wheelchair to the void deck. “We had it locked there without issue for many months until this happened,” he said.
On 21 Nov 2022, the resident discovered it had gone missing. He suspected that the town council had removed it.
There was no prior warning, although a neighbour told them that the town council typically provides a notice first.
A day later, the resident passed by the garbage disposal when he saw that the wheelchair had been dismantled.
Image courtesy of Yishun resident
Its spare parts were in the garbage disposal, with the lock presumably destroyed as well.
“Even if the bicycle rack does not condone the parking of a wheelchair, shouldn’t we get a warning?” he asked.
The resident pointed out that there are a few trolleys and personal mobility devices (PMDs) locked in the same area now. “I do not understand why our wheelchair was singled out.”
Once Nee Soon Town Council was notified of the issue, a representative called the resident and explained that the wheelchair had been destroyed due to miscommunication.
According to him, they also promised to compensate him with a new wheelchair.
However, the resident said they called back after two days to ask if they could offer a secondhand wheelchair as compensation.
“I was appalled that they offered a secondhand one. Because a geriatric wheelchair is usually used for comatose or vegetative patients who can’t control their bladders and bowels,” he said, adding that he felt uncomfortable.
In response to MS News‘ queries in late November 2022, a Nee Soon Town Council spokesperson said they were aware of the issue and had begun investigating.
However, follow-up queries regarding the purported miscommunication and secondhand wheelchair compensation went unanswered.
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