Rats chew up S$1,000 notes: Volunteers find damaged cash in 3 elderly siblings' cluttered Toa Payoh flat

A family of three elderly siblings have been living in their cluttered public housing flat in Toa Payoh for 20 years.

In a Facebook post by local volunteer organisation Helping Joy Ltd, it was revealed that the eldest sibling, surnamed Tan, is in his late 80s and has multiple chronic health conditions.

His younger sister, who is in her late 70s, is his main caregiver and is a cardboard collector.

Their youngest brother, who lives with them, is in his early 70s.

Volunteers find money

Shin Min Daily News reported that on Sep. 7, a group of 35 volunteers from Helping Joy Ltd helped to declutter and clean the siblings' flat.

During the cleanup, volunteers discovered thousands of dollars in cash, including S$1,000 banknotes that had been gnawed by rats.

The money had apparently been forgotten.

Spent 2 hours cleaning

According to Shin Min, the whole cleaning process took about two hours.

A Shin Min reporter, who went down to the flat at around noon, saw about 10 people entering the unit to clean up and move furniture out of the unit.

Another group of volunteers stood at the staircase landing, forming a human chain to carry the items, packed in trash bags downstairs, while others used trolleys to transport the items.

Volunteers sift through items in trash bags

The cleaning tools brought by the volunteers were placed on the ground floor of the block.

Shin Min reported that about four to five volunteers were seen squatting at the side, sorting through the items in the trash bags and picking out items that could still be used.

The rest were dumped.

As the volunteers sorted through the bags, they uncovered large amounts of cash, ranging from S$2 notes to S$1,000 notes, some of which were still inside red packets.

Cash chewed up by rats

However, many of the banknotes appeared not salvageable as they were badly chewed up.

One of the volunteers, Wen Ai Ling (transliteration), 47, told Shin Min that if the serial number on the banknotes are not damaged, they might be able to get them exchanged at the bank.

"However, if the parts of the banknotes containing the serial numbers were chewed off, it would be difficult to exchange them," she explained.

Volunteers carefully sorted the banknotes, setting aside the intact ones, while the damaged ones were enough to fill a large jar.

Wen added that she had encountered similar situations in such hoarders' houses before, where the elderly would hide their cash in jars or various corners around the house, and then forget about them.

Six rats cleared from flat

According to Shin Min, volunteers cleared a total of six rats from the house.

Three to four rats were found hiding under the altar, along with some dead rats.

Another volunteer, surnamed Chen, told Shin Min that they found rats all around the house, from the living room and kitchen, to the rooms.

"We found six rats in total. Two large rats, about 20cm long, and four other smaller rats."

They also found many cockroaches in the house.

Siblings to be given new furniture

According to Shin Min, after the cleanup was complete, volunteers proceeded to spray insecticide and repaint the flat before helping to move the old furniture that are still intact inside.

Wen revealed that the siblings will be given S$5,000 worth of new furniture.

Younger sister expressed gratitude towards the volunteers

Tan's younger sister, Ou Ya Yang (transliteration), 78, expressed her gratitude towards the volunteers and those who donated money to help them.

In an interview after the clean-up, Ou told Shin Min that she could finally live comfortably:

"I'm usually busy collecting cardboard and taking care of my family, so I don't have time to clean the house. I'll do my best to maintain it."

Ou also revealed that a rat had previously bitten her toe while she was sleeping, causing it to bleed.

This had left her worried about being bitten by rats at night.

Founder of Mayapada Group will be sponsoring the siblings for 2 years

Tahir, 73, a billionaire Indonesian philanthropist who goes by a single name, will be donating S$500 to the siblings each month for the next two years.

He learned about the family's plight and immediately decided to help them, Shin Min reported.

The banking and property magnate is the founder of Mayapada Group.

He was born in Surabaya, East Java, and graduated from Nanyang Technological University.

He has been involved in other charitable causes.

Helping Joy Ltd also launched an online fundraising campaign, inviting members of the public to donate or sponsor items needed by the siblings.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News