Hoarder from cockroach-infested flat getting treatment from IMH
PUBLISHED ONMay 19, 2015 2:20 PM
SINGAPORE - The cockroach-infested flat of a hoarder at Eunos Crescent has undergone a huge clean up, with relieved neighbours saying cockroaches are no longer seen swarming outside the flat.
One of the occupants of the unit, Madam Soh Siew Zhen, 66, who is a hoarder, has been compulsively bringing all kinds of junk back to the flat for the past two decades, The New Paper reported.
According to Lianhe Wanbao on Tuesday, Madam Soh has been admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for treatment of a mental disorder.
Her husband, Mr Lim Chin Ting, 74, spoke to a Wanbao reporter this morning and confirmed that his wife had been at IMH for two weeks, and she is being taken care of by their daughter. He shared that he has yet to visit her at the hospital.
According to reports, the couple have not been on speaking terms for 20 years.
Although the flat is now clean, Mr Lim said there are times when the stench would resurface. He said the authorities would be sending some people to the flat next week to help with more cleaning.
The home has been cleared by a team of people from grassroots organisations, the Housing Board, and the National Environment Agency, The Straits Times reported.
Mr Lim added that once the flat is throroughly cleaned, he would buy a new bed, so that Madam Soh would have a "clean room and new bed to sleep on at home" when she is discharged from hospital.
The couple's situation came to light after a neighbour, Ms Nur'Ashikin, posted a video on Facebook on April 27, which showed dozens of cockroaches swarming around the corridor. This was after National Environment Agency officers on an anti-dengue fever drive sprayed insecticide in the flat.
The video has been viewed more than 330,000 times.
candicec@sph.com.sg