'I'll climb inside to sleep': Woodlands hoarder no longer naps outside flat after town council clears clutter

[UPDATE: Oct 4]

After sleeping in the corridor outside her Woodlands Drive flat for some time, this elderly hoarder can now rest her head in her home.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the Sembawang Town Council helped to clear up the clutter outside the 68-year-old woman's home last week.

When reporters visited her flat on Tuesday (Oct 3), she was seen sitting along the corridor, sorting out bags and other items.

She told reporters that she's able to enter her home again after some of the items were removed.

"There are pockets of free space in the house. I'll stand on my plastic stool and I'll climb inside to sleep," she said.

The woman, who declined to be named, also shared that she became a karang guni over 20 years ago because she didn't have a job, but still wanted to provide for herself.

As for the safety concerns raised by some of the residents in her block, she said: "I don't switch on the lights or burn anything, so unless someone deliberately sets a fire or throws cigarette butts into my house, there won't be a fire.

"I'll also be careful myself."

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Her clutter may have been cleared several times, but this elderly hoarder keeps collecting items.

A woman in her 60s has been sleeping in the corridor outside her own flat along Woodlands Drive for 10 years, unable to enter her own home after it was filled to the brim with hoarded items, Shin Min Daily News reported last week. 

She has been accumulating objects such as clothes, plastic bottles and suitcases in her home for over 20 years, resulting in an overflow that has even blocked off some parts of the corridor she rests in.

Her neighbours have mixed reactions to her hoarding habits — some view the clutter as a safety risk and fire hazard while others feel that "she's gentle" and "doesn't disturb" them, so they treat her kindly.

However, feedback received from residents has led the Sembawang Town Council to clear the woman's stash in early August, 8world reported on Tuesday (Sept 3).

Prior to this, residents alerted the town council to the matter on at least twice.

After receiving resident feedback on Feb 14, town council staff arranged for the clearance of the woman's clutter on Feb 17. They also reminded her not to obstruct the corridor.

Last August, they engaged a service provider to remove the items, and informed the elderly woman and her family about the importance of keeping the corridor clear.

The town council told 8world that they've been working with a contractor to remove junk items regularly, adding that they are also working with the housing board and the Agency for Integrated Care to resolve this matter.

ALSO READ: 'Severe hoarding issues': Elderly man turns Henderson Crescent HDB block corridor into 'junkyard'

khooyihang@asiaone.com