Elderly man in Chin Swee falls and gets trapped amid clutter at home, friend hooks key out to get to him

Unable to get up again after taking a hard fall to the floor, an elderly man living alone in the Jalan Kukoh area called his church friend for help.

When the latter arrived, the man surnamed Chin, who is in his 70s, was trapped in the kitchen of his cluttered two-room flat and could not open the locked door to let his friend in, reported Shin Min Daily News on Wednesday (July 3).

The friend, Terry, managed to use a hook to retrieve Chin's house keys through the open window. 

Terry found the elderly man lying on a very messy floor and called an ambulance. 

While Chin was in the hospital, Terry thought of cleaning up his home, but realised he could not do so alone due to the large amount of clutter.

He then contacted charity organisation Helping Joy, which helps hoarders declutter, on June 18.

Volunteer Irene Woon told Shin Min that 25 volunteers decluttered and cleaned the flat on Sunday (June 30).

They cleared about six to seven large bins of items from Chin's home, she added.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Helping Joy shared photos of the flat before and after it was decluttered and cleaned.

According to the pre-cleanup photos, numerous cardboard boxes were stacked around the house, and the floor was covered with clothes, plastic bags and other rubbish. Dark brown stains could also be seen on the flooring and some furniture items.

But after six hours of decluttering and deep cleaning, the flat was ready to welcome Chin home.

ALSO READ: Volunteers help clean up cluttered Clementi flat after owner suffers fall

lim.kewei@asiaone.com