SINGAPORE - Mr Chng, 26, took this video as he carefully made his way up the stairs to his mother's second-floor Chinatown home. There is barely enough space for him to walk, a narrow path on the stairs is flanked on both sides by mounds of stuff.

To the right are boxes stacked shoulder height or higher against a wall. To the left, paper bags and plastic bags packed with unidentified objects are strewn, alongside an assortment of items seemingly picked up from the trash - random bits of paper and empty drink bottles.