It was a Facebook post that went viral because of the shocking pictures: Hundreds of instant noodle packets in a one-room rental flat of a 78-year-old man that were spilling out from the kitchen into the central area of his home.

These packets, most of them past their expiry dates, were stacked to the brim in his refrigerator and cluttering his home, leaving him with little space to walk. There were also more than 50 bottles of soya sauce and other condiments, and multiple unopened bags of rice.