http://news.insing.com/tabloid/tenants-could-not-wait-move-out-hdb-block/id-c0753f00
“Good riddance,” the 46-year-old thought.
He was renting a unit at the block of government-built flats – block 28 – located at Toa Payoh Lorong 6.
On 31 March this year, inSing visited the block – a day before demolition works were originally scheduled – to check out the evacuation process.
It was a surprise to find a few units still being occupied, because the residents had not yet secured alternative housing.
There were no stories of nostalgia when some of them were interviewed. They were just glad to be out of the rental flat that was, by their accounts, a nightmare for them.
The block is a 20-storey block comprised of three-room flats used for HDB’s interim rental housing scheme.
The aim of the scheme is to provide needy families with low-cost rental housing while they waited for their permanent homes to be built.
Managed by private operator EM Services, each two-bedroom unit would house two families.
Each family is allocated a bedroom while the living room, kitchen, toilet facilities are shared.
The rental varies according to how much the family or individual earns. HDB states on its website that it can range from S$26 to S$275 a month while the monthly utilities charges are split between the two families.
Revindran, who moved into block 28 with his mother in June 2010, described his years of living there as “hell”.
He had to sell his five-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio after his business venture as a personal coach in neuro-linguistic programming failed.
“It’s true, the Government is giving us a place to stay at a very low cost, but putting two families together in one flat can feel very degrading,” said Revindran, who is now working as a security officer.
Revindran recalled that fights between families were frequent, and personnel from private operator EM Services often had to appear to act as mediator for these disputes.
“I heard shouting and screaming almost on a daily basis and there were police visits almost every day,” he said.
Because of Revindran’s experience at block 28, he fears for children who have to live in such interim rental flats.
“I feel very sad for some of these families. The first family who shared the flat with us had two daughters. The father was able-bodied but he… went around homes fixing pipes and electrical wires, making only S$20-$30 a day.
He would drink, return home, and beat his wife. The eldest daughter confided in my mother that she was going to leave her parents when she grew up.”
He added: “You’re living in a cramped room, with so much negativity around you. You have to tell yourself that the situation is temporary and will get better.
“You have to fight to keep your faith alive, otherwise you can easily be broken, demoralised and just accept that it is your lot in life,” he said.
He has since moved to Yishun.
Ong Wei Boon, who lived in block 28 for two-and-a-half years, also shared a similar tale.
“This is a ‘hot’ block. Always, police and ambulance (would be here). Sometimes, as early as two or three in the morning, you would have families shouting and fighting,” said Ong, 49, who works as a karung guni (rag-and-bone) collector.
“The other family I share the flat with was never happy when I cooked in the kitchen. Even when I’m just walking around the house, they would accuse me of staring at them or at their wives, so they would shout at me and challenge me to a fight” said Ong, who is single.
After being served the demolition notice, he moved out in April to live in Jalan Kayu.
“My two-and-a-half years in the block was a very unhappy time,” he said.
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