Singapore — The neighbours of an elderly couple have had to tolerate the stench of garbage from their Chinatown flat for over a decade, leading both the town council and an NGO to step in to address the situation.
The couple, a 75-year-old man and his 65-year-old wife, identified as a Madam Chua, are longtime residents of one of the upper floors of a Housing Board block in Block 5 Banda Street.
Strong smells from their unit have reached the elevator lobby and corridors of their floor, as the couple has allowed trash to accumulate inside over the years, according to a report in The Straits Times.
There were piles of garbage in the hall leading to the couple’s kitchen, ST wrote, including “styrofoam food containers, empty instant coffee packets, empty bottles and plastic bags filled with unidentified items.”
The report quotes the elderly man as saying, however, that he and his wife are disposing of the trash. The man was described as “reclining on the bed piled with containers, plastic bags and a rice cooker.”
He also said that his wife just leaves rubbish around after they have finished eating.
The situation has gotten so bad that a neighbour named Mr Mohammad told ST he felt sorry for the elderly couple, but added, ”Whenever I open the door, the smell comes in straightaway. It’s not good for them and the neighbours. It’s like we are living in a rubbish chute.”
He also expressed concerns over the hygiene situation, since roaches have been seen emerging from the couple’s unit, and said that the accumulation of trash is a fire hazard.
A spokesman from the Jalan Besar Town Council agreed, saying that items in the common corridor would be cleared for safety reasons after giving the couple a grace period to remove the items on their own.
“This is necessary as obstructions to the common corridor do not just inconvenience other residents but also pose a fire hazard,” he said.
The Non-Government Organization Keeping Hope Alive has also expressed willingness to help out, visiting the couple last April.
“Our volunteers assured Madam Chua they will get her permission before clearing anything, but she said she needed more time to sort out the items that are valuable to her,” said Ms Fion Phua, the group’s founder. /TISG
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