Elderly man clutters whole flat with newspapers, volunteers carefully pick out cash hidden in the pile

Instead of a bed, an elderly man slept on stacked sheets of newspaper for over 10 years.

Volunteers from Keeping Hope Alive recently stepped in to help clean up and refresh the cluttered rental flat in Clementi when the 76-year-old man was hospitalised, ensuring that he had a clean, safe space to return to, according to MustShareNews.

The volunteer initiative revealed in a Facebook post on Nov 11 that the flat had no furniture — only newspapers which covered every inch of the floor and stacked chest-high.

Also, the volunteers realised that he had been stashing cash in the pile, and they managed to pick them out, digging deep into the rubbish.

"Uncle had been sleeping on newspapers for over a decade. When they got dirty, he simply laid fresh ones on top. Layer after layer, year after year," it wrote.

Photos shared in the post show piles of newspapers and sundries in the flat.

Keeping Hope Alive said its volunteers worked through the clutter with their heads "nearly touched the ceiling". 

Windows of the 9th floor unit were shut as a safety precaution; in case anyone lost their balance and fell.

The team also had to contend with pests including cockroaches and bedbugs, and at one point "evacuate" for fresh air after a foul-smelling liquid spilled from a flask.

Water-soaked newspapers near the toilet had also become "thick, slimy bricks" had to be broken apart using force.

But the organisation revealed that the most challenging part of the clean-up effort was preserving the cash which the elderly man had folded and left amid the clutter.

"Uncle had folded money into intricate shapes, making it nearly impossible to tell paper from paper," they shared.

"After seven hours of careful searching, we gathered one large bag full of notes and coins. If we'd simply thrown everything away, we could have finished in two hours. But going layer by layer, checking each fold — that's what left all our volunteers with aching backs."

Volunteers also gave the flat a fresh coat of paint and changed the light bulbs.

"The work was hot, smelly, and exhausting. But we walked away knowing we did what we could, and uncle now has a livable space waiting for him," Keeping Hope Alive concluded.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com