A couple in Singapore has decided to make the covered walkway under the overhead bridge as their home by piling up debris along it after living on the streets for many years despite having a home to which they can return, reported Zaobao.
A reader told Shin Min Daily News that a couple has been eating and sleeping under an overhead bridge near Block 107, Hougang Avenue 3, and they have been piling objects around them.
When the reporter visited the scene, the reporter found that they are the two same “homeless” people who had been reported by Shin Min Daily News several times in the past.
Reportedly, they had moved three times around Kovan area previously.
Two years ago, they moved to the back alley of a shophouse near the upper Serangoon Road. It was until recently that they moved to the above-mentioned location.
According to observations and after walking down from one end of the overhead bridge to the other end, it was observed that both sides of the nearly 10-meter-long covered walkway are filled with second-hand goods and sundries hoarded by the homeless couple. These include many cardboard boxes, plastic bags, wire panels, helium gas tanks, and an iron tricycle carrying groceries. The scene looked very messy.
The man, known as Uncle Wang (53 years old) told the reporter that his home is nearby, in one of the flats at Block 174C, and he is not homeless.
“Although there I have a place to live, we can’t keep our things at home, and it’s too troublesome to move up to the third floor, so we just sleep here,” he told the reporter.
In addition, the man also told the reporters that he is also worried that if no one is guarding his belongings, someone will take their things at night, they will cause a fire, or their things could be used in a fight. He is afraid that he will have to take responsibility when such incidents happen, so he rather guards the things himself.
Public thought they were homeless
Some members of the public are concerned about the couple’s health issues, and some people think that the two are “homeless”. Diners who frequent a nearby coffee shop said that they often saw the two sleeping out at night and thought they were homeless.
“Recently it keeps raining and the couple is sleeping out there, it is not good for their health. I feel sorry for them,” said one member of the public.
Another resident said that the couple had placed old objects at a nearby bus stop before moving under the overhead bridge about two weeks after receiving complaints, “I feel like the walkway has become dirty, like a garbage dump,” the resident added.
Couple only goes home when they need to shower
When the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out, the measures in Singapore were very strict. The couple could no longer sleep on the streets hence they moved all their things home.
The man told the reporter that at that time, one of them have to go out to collect second-hand items alone, while the other person do a part-time job.
“Now we just go home and take a shower, and we use the bathroom at a nearby coffee shop if we need to use the toilet,” he added.
He said that selling second-hand items can bring at least $1,000 a month. “It is better for us to support ourselves than having to beg,” he said.
Refused help from social workers
Shin Min Daily News has featured the couple in several reports in the past. It was revealed that the couple had chalked up debts due to gambling, and they had nowhere to live after selling their house, so they chose to sleep outside. They relied on selling second-hand items and working as helpers in coffee shops to earn their living. They have been “stationed” in Serangoon and Hougang area for many years.
Reportedly, authorities have arranged for the couple to stay in a rental flat many times, giving the couple at least a roof over their heads, different units and social workers have also offered to help them. But at that time, the couple had refused help because they thought that the unit was either too far away or it was too small for them to store their things.
