One 83-years-old man who is living alone in an HDB flat in Bedok area recently reached out to Shin Min Daily News. According to the report, the old man told the newspaper that he was struggling in his later years and his son was unwilling to support him.
He told the reporter that he and his wife have been married for more than 50 years, and together they have three daughters and one son. All four of them have gotten married, and one of his daughters is now residing in Malaysia.
“I used to drive a taxi, and then I worked as a cleaner at the Changi Airport food court. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have not worked for the past two years,” said the elderly man.
Spent the New Year alone and felt bitter about it
The elderly man shared that he currently survives on his remaining savings and goes to the coffee shop downstairs to pack food every day.
He also pointed out that his wife has moved to his son’s house about six or seven years ago, and only comes back occasionally for a short stay on weekends. He lives alone most of the time, adding that his son refuses to give him living expenses.
Talking about the Lunar New Year period, the elderly man said that on New Year’s Eve, his wife had a reunion dinner with his son’s family, while he went to the coffee shop downstairs to pack food by himself. Feeling bitter, he told the reporters that his son has not visited him to 拜年(wish him a Happy New Year) since the Chinese New Year.
The reporter contacted the elderly man’s wife and her son, who provided their explanations in response to the man’s accusation.
According to his son, when he was young, his father was often away from home and did not perform his duty as a father for the family. As a result, his mother had to work as a part-time nanny to earn money. “He also chose to be absent from the family’s reunion dinner in the past,” said his son.
The family revealed that the elderly man currently has enough savings, and some of his money is managed by his younger brother. They also added that the elderly man was younger, he likes to make friends with women and give them money to spend. His family was worried that he would anyhow give his money to others as he used to in the past, so they prefer him not to have too much money.
Son called police on his father when he went to his house to ask for money
The elderly man alleged that he was sent to the Institute of Mental Health after his son called the police on him for going to his place to ask for living expenses.
He told reporters that in November last year, he went to his son’s house for an explanation as to why his son refuses to give him any living expenses.
“My son called the police immediately, and I was sent to the Institute of Mental Health for about three weeks,” he said.
His son revealed that his father actually brought a screwdriver and a wooden stick to his place and caused a scene that day. He was worried about the safety of his family, so he called the police.
The elderly man, however, denied that he gave his money to other women. He also told the reporter that he feels insecure without having money at his age.
Family will give elderly man money when he runs out of it
The elderly man said that he only had a few thousand dollars left to live and he had originally planned to rent out a room to earn extra income. However, his family refused.
In response to this, his family said that they would give him more money when he runs out of it.
His family the elderly man previously had deposited $20,000 into a woman’s bank account. This was found out by his brother who then approached the woman and threatened to call the police. It was only after that the woman was willing to return the money.
The elderly man told the reporter that he was worried that the money would be lost, so he let people keep it. He also gave a set of home keys to his friends so that he would not become homeless in case things happen.
Tsk tsk tsk. If lao niang is the wife, I confirm sibei dulan. So now you know why must have CPF liao? It’s for people like that who like to luan luan spend money and luan luan give money to OTHER WOMEN!
If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.
