The wife of a Bangladeshi cleaner working here became worried when she saw a photo of her husband with police officers online, thinking that he had done “something wrong”.
In reality, her husband Mr Kalam had been on his way to deliver personally cooked curry and rice to an needy resident. The Bangladeshi who works at Tanjong Pagar Town Council had been using a borrowed scooter to make the trip, attracting the attention of police officers from Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre who asked him where he got the scooter from.
Not only did the officers find out that the 31-year-old had borrowed the scooter, they also found why he was going to a Commonwealth Crescent resident’s home – that same day, Mr Kalam had been working in the area when a woman in a sixth floor unit asked him for food. Mr Kalam shared with reporters that the woman had just undergone an operation and was not very mobile: “She cannot cook, cannot go to the market to buy.”
Mr Kalam immediately offered to give her a box of curry and rice he had prepared the night before in his dormitory and was making the trip between his store (where workers keep their belongings) and the woman’s flat when officers stumbled into him.
Touched, the officers complimented Mr Kalam and snapped photos with him, to thank him and share his selfless act on their social media page. The post featuring Mr Kalam quickly garnered hundreds of likes and shares, prompting Tanjong Pagar Town Council to award Mr Kalam with an official certificate of appreciation.
This afternoon, I presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr Kalam Mohd Abu. Let me share what he has done.For 10…
Posted by Melvin Yong 杨益财 on Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Speaking to reporters, Mr Kalam’s supervisor revealed that this not the first time Mr Kalam has given food to an elderly resident in the area, despite the fact that he earns less than $1000 a month – most of which he sends home to his parents, wife, and two-year-old daughter whom he has yet to meet:
“He has seen the elderly grow older, the weak become weaker and some have passed away over the years. He has already been giving extra food to the elderly. That’s why when the lady asked for food the instinct in him came out. They’re also comfortable to eat the food, because they already know him.”
Mr Kalam, who has been working here for a decade, said that he is happy to help the “aunties” and “uncles” he sees around the estate.
https://theindependent.sg.sg/migrant-cleaner-personally-delivers-home-cooked-food-to-needy-commonwealth-crescent-resident-senior/