A 66-year-old retiree, surnamed Looi, spends eight hours a day picking up rubbish around his estate in Kallang.

According to Shin Min Daily News, he started this habit of cleaning five years ago, in a bid to make his neighbourhood cleaner and more comfortable for his neighbours.

Inspired by his younger sister

Looi, who has lived at Block 467 along Crawford Lane for nearly 40 years, said he had been inspired by his younger sister who returned from Hong Kong five years ago to take of their mother who was ill.

According to Looi, she would go downstairs to pick up rubbish during her free time.

He added:

"I am also a fussy person. Each time I return home, I want to clean the litter and cigarette butts I see on the ground. So I joined her."

Cleaned the estate for three hours while he was still working

Looi said that prior to his retirement in 2023 from his job in customer service at SingPost, he would only be able to pick up litter from 7pm to 10pm.

Now that he has retired and has more time, he will clean the estate in two shifts — for two hours from 5am to 7am in the morning, and for six hours from 4pm to 10pm later in the day.

Shin Min reported that the area Looi cleans is the vicinity of Blocks 466, 467 and 468, and that he's lived in the area for close to 40 years.

He will also help to return abandoned shopping carts and report on the community's state of cleanliness via the OneService app.

Looi pointed out that as the estate is near the MRT station and offices, there will be many people passing through — which means more and more litter is likely.

Looi added that keeping the estate clean has also helped to keep him healthy.

He elaborated:

"When I went to see the doctor at the time of my retirement, I was advised to not stay at home all day as it may increase the risk of high blood pressure. So I treat picking litter as a daily exercise and my blood pressure is well-controlled."

Wanted to give up at one point because he was scolded

Looi admitted that he wanted to give up at one point however, as he was scolded for doing something that was boring. He also got brickbats about the fact that he was not earning money from it.

He said, "Because the scolding was really ugly and I was so tired, I even thought about giving up."

However, under the guidance of his sister, he ultimately persevered.

"I have been doing this for so many years and it would be a shame to give up now," he said.

There have also been many people who have praised him, with some even attempting to give him money for his efforts.

Looi added that he rejected such gestures and said he was really happy when he met a person who praised him and wanted to take a photo with him. To him, it meant there were people who recognised his efforts.

He also voiced his satisfaction at how the community has become cleaner in recent years.

"I hope other residents will also join me in picking litter. If they can't, I hope we can work together to keep the community clean."

Commended by MP Denise Phua

Looi's efforts were eventually highlighted in a post by Member of Parliament (MP) Denise Phua on Jun. 28.

Phua said she had "bumped" into him when she completed her weekly house visits at Block 467 and expressed her gratitude for his "public spiritedness".

"Efforts by folks like Looi do lighten the load of our diligent town council cleaners," she wrote.