Singapore — The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board published a social media post in reaction to a TISG story about an elderly man who had been jobless and homeless.
“A 71-year-old Singaporean was allegedly left homeless when he lost his job, even though he had S$67,000 in his Central Provident Fund (CPF) account, since he only receives a S$425 monthly payout from the CPF Board,” read the article, which was first published in 2019.
TISG re-posted the article on Dec 5.
This time, the CPF Board responded, saying the man had not, in fact, been homeless in 2019.
“He has been living in a rental flat facilitated by the Social Service Office and community partners since 2019,” the Board wrote.
Moreover, the elderly gentleman seems to be in much better condition at the moment.
“He receives close to $700 a month in CPF payouts for his living expenses. There are also available CPF MediSave savings that he can withdraw for his healthcare needs,” wrote the CPF Board in its post.
TISG originally wrote that the senior citizen was homeless even though he had S$67,000 in his Central Provident Fund (CPF) account, as he was only receiving a S$425 monthly payout.
Another netizen by the name of Kilmar Wong shared on social media that he was helping Mr Lim apply for a rental flat and appealed for netizens to join him in helping Mr Lim find a new job and a place to live.
Sharing pictures of Mr Lim, Mr Wong wrote in a Facebook post: “Dear Singaporeans, I have attended a request to help n assist this Uncle whom is 71yo. (sic) He have (sic) lost his job and currently Homeless.
“He have (sic) 67k in his CPF, currently he is just surviving on Sgd425 monthly. He is Single and have (sic) no dependents. I hope any kind souls to (sic) come forward to offer him a job (last drawn pay Sgd1100) and a lodging place (sic) to house him.
“Pls contact me for further information or PM me. His name is Uncle Lim. In the meantime I will help him to draft out a formal letter and help him to apply for a Rental flat.”
When the story was first published back in 2019, we wrote that we had reached out to the CPF Board for their comment on this matter and would update the story once we received a response. /TISG