Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah recounted an incident on Facebook in July about some of her residents, an elderly couple who had generously given – sold without payment – their flat to their grown son but received terrible treatment in return. To their shock, their son drove them out of their house, saying he needed the space for his upcoming baby and the confinement lady instead. According to the couple, he would not even let them sleep in the hall. Ministry of National Development Minister Lawrence Wong says the parents have three options of recourse.
Lee, who hosts “Meet the People Sessions” with her residents every Monday evening, was approached by the couple during one session. After listening to the elderly parents’ story, she told the couple that their best best was to file for a Maintenance Order to get financial support from their son, though she agreed that parents may be apprehensive about going to court against their own family, especially a child.
On October 2, Ang Mo Kio MP Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Ministry of National Development if they had dealt with similar cases in the past – where elderly parents had been kicked out of their adult children’s homes, even if the parents sold their own flats to help their children buy homes in the first place.