Maggots, faeces and bugs: Volunteers find horrific conditions in elderly man's Chinatown flat
TNP
May 6, 2025
It took 20 volunteers from the community initiative Keeping Hope Alive to clean a one-room flat at Block 5 Banda Street.
The rental unit was filled with rubbish, with spider webs in every corner. The mattress was covered with faeces, and had maggots and bugs crawling all over it.
Keeping Hope Alive founder Fion Phua on April 20 visited the block with volunteers to see if there was anyone who needed help.
The volunteers who knocked on the door of a 62-year-old man's flat knew immediately that he needed help.
"The situation at the unit was dire. There was dirt and garbage everywhere. There were faeces and urine on the bed and floor. We started cleaning up right away."
Rubbish was piled everywhere in the flat. The fridge had rotten fruit crawling with bugs and the sink was choked.
When the volunteers lifted the bedsheets, they saw the mattress stained with faeces, and there were bugs and maggots crawling everywhere.
When Shin Min Daily News visited Mr Liao on May 1, it was observed that his bedsheets were already stained and the floor was dirty.
The wheelchair user explained that he and his younger brother occupy half of the flat each. His brother had to work and had no time to clean up or take care of him.
Mr Liao added that he had problems controlling his bladder and bowels.
"I don't want to be like this either. If I could control myself, how could I let myself become like this?" he said, adding that he felt helpless and frustrated.
Mr Liao depends on welfare groups for his meals but has nobody to help clean up.
