'I'm not in your way': Tampines resident sleeps in corridor after allegedly filling flat with belongings; police reports made

A Tampines resident, reportedly unable to access his hoard-filled flat due to accumulated belongings, has resorted to sleeping in the block's corridor and stairwell.

The 57-year-old man, identified as Mr Wu, lives at Block 208A in Tampines.

A neighbour, 57-year-old Chen, told Shin Min Daily News that the man had lived at the block for more than 10 years and previously shared the flat with a roommate.

However, after his roommate moved out around six or seven years ago, Wu allegedly began accumulating items in the flat.

Chen said the situation had worsened over the past six months.

She claimed she had tried to persuade him to clear the clutter but he refused, telling her: "I'm not in your way."

Another resident, 70-year-old Han, said Wu is now unable to sleep inside his own home and has instead been spending nights at the corridor or stairwell.

She told Shin Min that she had called the police more than six times within two months over the situation.

The newspaper reported that a Shin Min reporter visited the block on Monday (Sept 7) and found Wu sleeping in a stairwell.

When the reporter opened the stairwell door, there was reportedly a strong smell of urine.

Says he prefers to clear flat himself

Wu acknowledged that he's aware of complaints from his neighbours.

He said he had been clearing his flat himself and preferred to do it gradually.

"I've always been cleaning it myself. I'm used to clearing the house slowly," he said, according to the Chinese daily.

As he is currently unable to enter his unit, Wu said he has had to find other places to sleep temporarily.

He also claimed that social workers had previously visited his home three times to help clear it.

However, he said he became reluctant to accept further assistance after some of his belongings went missing following the clean-ups.

Wu also said he has had difficulty walking since he was young and later developed diabetes and lost his eyesight in both eyes.

He relies on a mobility aid to get around and showed the newspaper a card from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com

据报道，一名淡滨尼居民由于家中堆满了杂物，无法进入，只好睡在楼宇的走廊和楼梯间。

这名57岁的男子名叫吴先生，住在淡滨尼208A座。

一位邻居，57岁的陈先生告诉《新明日报》，这名男子在该楼住了10多年，之前曾与室友合租。

然而，大约六七年前，他的室友搬走后，吴某据称开始在公寓里囤积物品。

陈先生表示，过去六个月来，情况变得更加糟糕。

她声称自己曾试图说服他清理杂物，但他拒绝了，并告诉她：“我不会妨碍你。”

另一位居民，70岁的韩先生说，吴先生现在无法在自己家中睡觉，只能在走廊或楼梯间过夜。

她告诉《新明日报》，在两个月内，她曾就此事六次以上报警。

据该报报道，《新明日报》一名记者于周一（9月7日）走访了该街区，发现吴某睡在楼梯间里。

据报道，当记者打开楼梯间的门时，闻到了一股浓烈的尿骚味。

他说他更喜欢自己清理空地。

吴承认他知道邻居们的投诉。

他说他一直都是自己清理公寓，而且更喜欢循序渐进地进行。

据中国日报报道，他说：“我一直都是自己打扫的。我习惯慢慢地把房子收拾干净。”

吴先生表示，由于目前无法进入自己的房间，他不得不暂时找其他地方睡觉。

他还声称，社工之前曾三次到他家帮忙清理。

然而，他说，在清理工作之后，他的一些物品丢失了，因此他不愿意接受进一步的援助。

吴先生还表示，他从小走路就困难，后来患上糖尿病，双目失明。

他依靠助行器出行，并向报社展示了一张新加坡视障人士协会的卡片。

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com