Six serious cases of hoarding

A 48-year-old woman died from injuries after a fire broke out at her flat on March 5 and engulfed the living room, which had a vast amount of combustible items.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had to manoeuvre past "heaps of items" in the flat to get to her and her 20-year-old son. He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where his condition stabilised.

A spokesman for Ang Mo Kio Town Council told The Sunday Times that it helped to clear the debris and clean up the unit on March 17. It will also restore the electricity and carry out basic lighting, painting and plumbing works to help the family.

In 2019, ST visited the flat of an 80-year-old woman with the volunteers of Keeping Hope Alive, who were there to declutter and reorganise the flat. Volunteers had difficulty getting into the cluttered one-room rental apartment, which was infested with rats.

When ST visited the flat again on March 16 this year, there was some clutter, such as plastic bags, clothes and tissue paper scattered about the house. The woman declined to be interviewed but said there were no more pests.

Ms Fion Phua, founder of the volunteer platform, said they visit her after every festive season or school holiday period to help her tidy her flat. They will visit her again soon.

A woman, then 60, had filled her flat with so much junk that she had to find some other place to sleep, including at an outdoor pavilion.

Neighbours were worried that she was creating a fire hazard. It was reported then that the Tanjong Pagar Town Council worked with the Housing Board and Agency for Integrated Care to help her.

During a visit on March 19 this year, ST saw bags of rotting food hung on home-made hangers on the metal gate; and an odour and flies pervaded the place.

Neighbours said the home owner could frequently be found at the nearby market. She turned out to be at the food centre, surrounded by empty bottles and plastic bags. She declined to be interviewed.

A 68-year-old man was found dead among the pile of things he had hoarded for years. The SCDF had to use a hydraulic tool to forcibly enter the flat and wade through the piles of rubbish before getting to his body. Police classified the case as unnatural death.

A 59-year-old man was found dead in the toilet after a fire broke out in his flat, which was full of paper and items hoarded over the years, leaving only a narrow space in the living room to walk through. Neighbours had also complained to the town council about his possessions obstructing the common corridor.

A couple lived in the cockroach-infested flat, where the woman, then 66, had hoarded newspapers, boxes and other used items.

When ST visited the flat on March 17 this year, there was no one at home.

According to neighbours, the woman still hoards objects, but her daughter visits every week to clean up. They are not troubled by pests from the flat anymore.