He hopes to buy a flat

He works as a chauffeur and his hours are long, from 6am to midnight every day.

He takes home about $2,000 a month. But that also means Mr Hamir Abdul Hamid, 50, does not have much time for his five children, aged between five to 14.

He moved into interim rental housing (IRH) after his first marriage failed three years ago.

Left alone at home, two of his sons, 12 and 14, used to wander out of the house on their own and mingle with other children at the void deck.

Then in September, they got into a serious fight.

Getting Help

They ended up in a boys' home, on the advice of social workers from the Singapore Children's Society.

Said Mr Hamir: "One of them had a very bad eye injury. We were horrified when we found out.

"Initially, I was resistant to the idea of taking my children away. But I realised our interaction with the kids was not ideal, and they're much better off now."

Mr Hamir's Indonesian wife also worked as an aircraft cleaner, but stopped work after the incident. He has now applied for a Build-to- Order flat.

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