Dictated Country, Dictated Life, Dictated Living...
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I read with amazement and disgust the recent incident, wherein an elderly man dies in a fight with co-tenant (flat-mate).
Why must government, dictate how people live?? Must the gov deny us every drop of our RIGHTS as humans?? From retirement savings, to jobs, to a life of NO RETIREMENT / IMPOSSIBLE TO RETIRE (wonder what Retirement Funds are for as such), and to the end of our lives.
To this incident, I ask the gov; Do your people, have eyes to see what your "policies" are doing to people?
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Elderly can't rent flat alone. Some have no choice but to share with people they dislike
FLAT WOES
March 30, 2007
PUT two strangers together in a small space and sparks are bound to fly - and not in a good way.
Counsellors who spoke to The New Paper said that fights between co-tenants in Housing Board rental flats are common.
Mr Anthony Teo, programme coordinator at the Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre in that Jalan Bukit Merah, said friction is inevitable after living together for a while.
He said: 'About 75 per cent of people who live in such rental flats are elderly people with no relatives. So they have co-tenants.
'But sometimes, co-tenants move out because they don't get along with their flatmate.'
Under the HDB's Joint Singles scheme, two singles who are at least 35 years old can rent a one-room flat together. Their gross household income must not exceed $1,500 a month.
HDB does not allow a senior citizen to rent a flat alone.
Mr Teo said: 'When one co-tenant dies or moves out, the HDB will ask the existing resident to look for another flatmate.
'Otherwise, the HDB can assign a co-tenant to the flat.
'Many co-tenants are friendly after being introduced to each other. But friction can arise after living together for some time.'
Mr Teo recalled one case where tension arose because the main tenant was hygienic, but his elderly co-tenant left tissue paper all over the place.
'They quarrelled regularly within two months of living together. I talked to them and told the co-tenant not to be so dirty.
'I also told the main tenant to give way as the co-tenant was older. After two months, the co-tenant moved out.'
And once there is friction, it is hard for two flatmates to continue living together, Mr Teo said.
'Elderly people tend to bear grudges after a quarrel. Even after counselling, they resume quarrelling after a few days.'
Yesterday's Bukit Merah case was not the only instance of flat-sharing gone wrong. At least three other cases have been reported previously.
On 21 Aug 2005, Chew Thiam Huat, 48, bludgeoned his 64-year-old flatmate Soh Chiang Tam to death.
He then stabbed the body with a kitchen knife, believing that Mr Soh had a winning lottery ticket that belonged to him.
Chew was jailed for life on reduced manslaughter charges after it was found that he was a schizophrenic.
On 31 Jan 2004, Goh Sing Teck, 54, an odd-job labourer, repeatedly slashed and stabbed his co-tenant, Mr Raymond Chia Teck, 51, on the chest, arms and legs after they had a quarrel.
Mr Chia, who sustained 11 stab wounds, died in hospital. He had provoked Goh by swearing at him, challenging him to a fight and kicking him in their one-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio.
In a note, Goh had written that 'everyone here can hear him scolding me every day'. He also cited a lack of privacy and repeated abuse from the victim as further motivation.
Goh was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
On 17 Sep 2002, Chia Moh Heng, 52, unemployed, stabbed his co-tenant, Mr Pang Siew Yin, 55. They shared a Jalan Kukoh flat.
Chia, who had a history of mental illness, was convicted of culpable homicide and jailed for life for manslaughter.
HDB does not allow an elderly person to rent a flat on his or her own to prevent accidents from happening, and to ensure that there will be someone to take care of them.
In a previous report in The New Paper On Sunday, an HDB spokesman said: 'For elderly persons, a more practical housing arrangement would be for them to live with family members for care and support.
'However, if for some reason, a single elderly person needs rental housing from HDB, there must be at least two single citizens, or one citizen and one permanent resident, to rent the flat together.
'Apart from ensuring optimal usage of the flat, this arrangement ensures that they have each other for mutual care and support, and is especially important if one of the occupiers is weak in health.'
In its latest annual report, HDB states that there are 19,491 one-room flats and 22,549 two-room flats.
Of these, about one in five of such flats are in Bukit Merah (4,231 one-room flats and 4,927 two-room flats).
Rentals range from $26 to $205 per month for one-room flats and $44 to $275 per month for two-room flats, depending on each household's gross monthly income.
In a Straits Times report earlier this year, Lions Befrienders, an elderly welfare group which looks after more than 700 elderly singles, said that some of the elderly residents who share rental flats do not get along, and some are driven out by their flatmates.
Its volunteers have found elderly people sleeping at the void deck of their block, feeling stressed and anxious.
There are no separate bedrooms in one-room flats, and the welfare group suggested improving these flats to let tenants have their own rooms and give them privacy.
Elderly people tend to bear grudges after a quarrel. Even after counselling, they resume quarrelling after a few days.
- Mr Anthony Teo, programme coordinator at the Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre in that Jalan Bukit Merah -
govt got to save cost to pay the elites better wages.................
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This further confirms my understanding of the value of life in relation to the country's wealth.
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i find the rules ridiculous too.
how can they expect 2 people who doesnt know each other to live together peacefully?
its such a small flat they can hardly avoid seeing each other.
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You know, I just wonder, do they use common sense when they come up with such policies as assigning flat-mates to elderlies???
I mean, I know they like to implement policies and don't like the additional work that comes with them, but pairing up humans are the toughest things for other humans to do!
For whatever reasons, be it economic, social, or whatever, that they have to make elderlies live with another stranger in a one room flat, they SHOULD have the required or expected FORESIGHT to know about personality clashes! Our ministers are friggin Egg-heads aren't they?? Couldn't they have foreseen such issues that can potentially crop up?? Or is everyone of us a guinea pig for them to do experiments with their half-cooked ideas??
All I wanna say to our "all knowing and knowledgeable" gov is; please don't implement policies and or solutions, that creates additional and new problems - social or otherwise. Eg., influx of PRCs and their vices....
bluddy lamers...
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Before some smart-ass comese along and say that this is not a Welfare State, lemme say this;
If they don't want to provide welfare, at least DON'T drive people to an early grave!!!!
WTF!! Some more have the damn cheek to demand salary increments...!!! -
The govt should do something about it.. i think it supposed they can look after each other.. i think most do..
The authorities need to set up a plan soon.. or ask people to adopt old people but wait the old people reject their help..
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yeah.
i read this today.
damm farked up. -
me 2!!
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this is singapore government for u when you are old and unwanted.
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to get away, just move out. renounce. at age 55 with your CPF and HDB, added up will be... say 300k. i dun see why other "countries" are keeping you away from them. up north have a few welcome you with open arms. just up north you will have about 600k, further up will have around 6000k.Originally posted by Infantile:this is singapore government for u when you are old and unwanted.
stay else where. work in SG. best way out for.... young SINGAPOREAN...
move else where, rest down there. best way out for... unwanted SINGAPOREAN.
for those who "not" working, no CPF, no HDB, good luck. -
if you are below 35 you cant rent a 1 room flat with your grandparent.
amazing rule isnt it?
they would rather you live with someone you dont know at all.
the reason - grandchild and grandparent relationship is not a nucleus.
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Young local should not buy HDB flat n instead tried to work in SPore n save to buy a house in other countries so they will not be tied down as selling aOriginally posted by Joshua1975:to get away, just move out. renounce. at age 55 with your CPF and HDB, added up will be... say 300k. i dun see why other "countries" are keeping you away from them. up north have a few welcome you with open arms. just up north you will have about 600k, further up will have around 6000k.
stay else where. work in SG. best way out for.... young SINGAPOREAN...
move else where, rest down there. best way out for... unwanted SINGAPOREAN.
for those who "not" working, no CPF, no HDB, good luck.
property is not easy as it look. -
we should be allowed to rent flats.
the idea of giving everybody a chance to own a flat is a bad one. -
Isn't it better that the elderlies piss one another off until they all die?
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What's wrong with renting your property? The problem here is that everyone bought into the ideology of home ownership as the greatest thing in the world since sliced bread.
What's important is that roof, not how you own it. -
its always been like this dam fuck up seriously.
but i've ask alot of ppl u know stranger taxi drivers salesman etc etc....
they always tell me bo bian just gotta live with it..
its like WTF singaporeans seriously need to wake up -
Looking at the HDB's policies as a whole, especially the income ceiling for both purchase and rental of flats, suggests that the PAP actually does not want Singaporeans to live within their means. Rather, they want Singaporeans to be forced to service longer mortgages and work as long as possible to do that.
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And we all know, in Singapore you do not actually own your flats.Originally posted by LazerLordz:What's wrong with renting your property? The problem here is that everyone bought into the ideology of home ownership as the greatest thing in the world since sliced bread.
What's important is that roof, not how you own it.
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but it is true that $$$ for HDB is going up. buy young and sell at 55 or 62, most likely will make. as for hard to sell? you buy at 300k now and say value at 600k by than if you let go at 550k, i dun see why no one going for it.Originally posted by will4:Young local should not buy HDB flat n instead tried to work in SPore n save to buy a house in other countries so they will not be tied down as selling a
property is not easy as it look.
the point is too cash out and get out.
hoping be cashing out this year.
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where ever you are, as long you pay property tax, you dun own that "land"Originally posted by av98m:And we all know, in Singapore you do not actually own your flats.
unless someone is paying you to pay that GOV and you are making some out of it. than i will say that you own it. $$$ -
precisely.Originally posted by av98m:And we all know, in Singapore you do not actually own your flats. -
and when you have mortgages to pay off, jobs to be worried about and so on, you have little in energy to care about politics, and also the person around you.Originally posted by av98m:Looking at the HDB's policies as a whole, especially the income ceiling for both purchase and rental of flats, suggests that the PAP actually does not want Singaporeans to live within their means. Rather, they want Singaporeans to be forced to service longer mortgages and work as long as possible to do that.
it's a vicious cycle. this is affecting most middle-classes around the world. -
I wonder if the 250 five room not sold flat had been successfuly sold?Originally posted by LazerLordz:and when you have mortgages to pay off, jobs to be worried about and so on, you have little in energy to care about politics, and also the person around you.
it's a vicious cycle. this is affecting most middle-classes around the world. -
no govt did not dictate that you have to live with strangers. only if you have $$$ then you can decide for yourself