Went to visit this unit which was published in The Straits
Times and Shin Ming Daily News. My team and myself got a shock when the owner
Mr Lim (74 years old) opened his door as the smell was indeed unbearable.
We
can see dozens of cockroaches crawling around, while dead ones lay motionless
on the sticky floor and some even on the walls.
There are stacks of newspapers, clothes, boxes, empty bottles and cans lined
the walls. The items filled the two rooms and kitchen to a chest-high level,
and there was only a narrow passage left for walking. Mr Lim sleeps on the sofa at the living room, while Mdm Soh
(66 years old) sleeps at the utility room next to the toilet. The condition in
the kitchen is even worst, as we can see flying cockroaches accompanied by the
smell of rotten foods filled the place, and dying insects can be seen
everywhere.
I spoke to Mr Lim and asked why he had refused to throw away
those dirty items and he replied to me saying all these items belongs to his
wife Mdm Soh. When we ask him where is Mdm Soh, he say they are not on talking
term since 20 years ago, even since she suffered from post-natal depression.
When asked of the pest infestation, Mr Lim says that all the cockroaches are
his "friends" now.
When we left the house, we spoke to two neighbours and they
are very concerned about this family, not because of their dirty environment
but both the elderly health condition. I can tell that their neighbours
actually do care for them, just that their helping hands had been
rejected.
While we were walking back to our car, we saw a women hiding
behind the letter box peeping at us. When I ask her whether she is Mrs Lim, she
scream at us, saying that why we write all the untruth stuffs about her house
in the newspaper. After we tell her we are volunteers from Project Awareness,
she quieten down and invited us to sit down to chat. We bought her an ice cream
and after taking a few mouthfuls, she kept the remainder inside a maggot filled
plastic bags. Ants can also be seen crawling in and out of her shirt but it
doesnt seem to bother her too.
During the chatting session, me and my Project Coordinator
Jacky Goh, can tell that she is suffering from some kind of mental disorder, as
she keep telling us that she attempted suicide a couple of times. We did try
our best to encourage her to sell away all her items inside the house to
exchange for cash, but she insisted on keeping all the items.
Mdm Soh share with us that many government agencies approach
her recently, and she is very willing to let the Town Council and HDB do the
house cleaning for her. But after awhile, she changed her mind suddenly and
accused us of trying to trick her to throw away her stuffs at her home.
I'm wondering how Project Awareness can help Mr Lim and Mdm
Soh, especially when both of them are living in such a terrible condition
environment. My heart sank when I was sitting close to Mdm Soh. Jacky, on the
other hand, accompanied Mr Lim inside their house. I feel that the both of them
have a serious communication problem, and I really hope we can have a solution
for them.
