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He couldn't control his bladder and urinated wherever he was in his Woodlands flat.
His neighbours complained that his flat and the common corridor reeked of urine.
But after The New Paper ran a report about 88-year-old Mr Dawart HJ Abdul Hamid's plight last Friday, help has come.
Not only has a company offered to deodorise his flat for free, he will also receive help to get medical treatment for his bladder condition.
The retiree is believed to have an enlarged prostate, causing him to lose control of his bladder. He lives in a three-room flat with friend and caregiver Mr Khamis Ibrahim, 51, an odd-job worker who moved in when Mr Dawart's wife died last year.
On Monday, Saion-EM Solutions, a company which distributes environmental products, fogged Mr Dawart's flat for free after the company's managing director read about him in TNP. It normally costs $180.
Said Saion-EM managing director Benny Pang, 42: "I felt so sorry for Mr Dawart. We all grow old and these health problems can affect any one of us."
Three men were sent to clean the flat.
Supervisor Ronnie Thio, 63, first fogged the bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathroom using a multi-purpose solution.
This solution, made from yeast, lactic acid bacteria and photosynthetic bacteria, works by breaking down urine, thus removing the odour.
Another staff member then mopped the entire flat.
The whole process took about 40 minutes. By the end of it, the odour had disappeared.
Mr Pang then gave Mr Dawart a 5-litre bottle of the solution, which costs $85.
Said Mr Pang: "We hope Mr Dawart's caretaker will mop the floor using the solution daily to prevent the odour from re-developing."
Medical help
Neighbours were happy with the outcome.
Said housewife Mallorine Yeow, 53, who lives directly above his flat: "There is no smell coming from the apartment now. Perhaps I can sleep well tonight."
His next-door neighbour, a music teacher who wanted be only known as Mr Huang, 57, said: "It's good people are noticing the problems of this old man, helping him and us neighbours."
Medical help
A spokesman for the North West Community Development Council said it was working with community partners such as the Marsiling grassroots organisations to offer Mr Dawart financial assistance and home help services.
The CDC will also provide him with a wheelchair and transport to get treatment at the polyclinic.
The spokesman said: "Mr Dawart has been advised to seek medical attention and necessary medical fee assistance to improve his condition.
"(The) Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council has also assisted to clean up Mr Dawart's flat."
Various Marsiling grassroots organisations have also come forward to offer help, following advice from Mr Hawazi Daipi, the Member of Parliament of Marsiling division.
Last Friday, the chairman of the Marsiling Citizen Consultative Committee (CCC) welfare committee, Mr Lee Wooi Sing, as well as the chairman and members of the Marsiling Zone 4 Residents' Committee (RC) called on him.
Besides arranging transport for him to get to a polyclinic or hospital, the CCC's welfare committee will work with the health providers to get his medical fees waived.
Furthermore, the CCC hopes to work with Mr Dawart's daughter, who lives in Malaysia and visits him occasionally.
Said Mr Lee: "Hopefully, we can find out more about her father's condition (through her) and see how to work with her to help her father."
TNP also understands that a family service centre will contact him soon to see how it can help him.
A grateful Mr Dawart told TNP: "Thank you very much. I'm very happy that people came to help me."
This article was first published in .