Wednesday, 8 Jan 2003

Once Abandoned, He Now Owns A 3-Room Flat
- The Electric New Paper

ANYONE who saw him 10 years ago wouldn't recognise him today.

In those days, a sick Mr Ng Ah Cheang was abandoned and roamed the void decks of HDB blocks without a cent.

Now, the intellectually disabled 43-year-old is employed and is the proud owner of a three-room HDB flat in Ubi.

Credit goes to Touch Ubi Hostel for transforming a messy and suicidal man into a self-supporting worker.

The hostel under Touch Community Services teaches its residents skills for living and working independently.

Hostel supervisor Amy Leng, 45, said: 'A good Samaritan found Ah Cheang sleeping at the void deck and brought him to our hostel.'

The former vagrant was a tough nut to crack as he either refused to talk to the hostel staff or would make incoherent sounds.

A medical checkup found that he had thyroid problems which impeded his speech.

While his condition improved after medication, his emotional wounds have remained.

During the interview, this reporter was asked not to ask questions about his abandonment for fear of opening old wounds.

Madam Leng recalled that Mr Ng said he wanted to commit suicide and resisted efforts to counsel him. After a while, the staff members got fed up and decided to use reverse psychology.

She said: 'We told him to make his suicide bid a quick one and not waste our time.

'We also warned him of the painful consequences should his bid fail.'

It worked, and Mr Ng decided to get actively involved in his rehabilitation.

The supportive and loving environment at Touch Community Services gave him a lot of help.

Staff members were patient and spoke slowly to him as they were aware that his IQ level is around 70. An average person has an IQ of 100.

The gentle and soft-spoken man said in Mandarin: 'I enjoyed learning how to cook, clean the house and make my bed.'

The personal grooming lessons were effective and could be seen from his clean shaven face and neatly parted hair.


Out to Work

The hostel thought that, with his improvements and stabilised medical condition, Mr Ng could go out to work.

In 1994, they got him a cleaning job with a pay of about $600.

Madam Leng said that Mr Ng was popular with employers because he was responsible and meticulous.

If he was required to be at the workplace at 8am, he would be there by 7am.

Mr Ng said: 'I enjoyed my work and being able to support myself.'

A dream of having an HDB flat to call his own motivated him to work hard and save as much as he could.

With the help of a volunteer, he managed to get a resale unit, a stone's throw from the hostel, for $118,000, said Madam Leng.

Initially the seller wanted a downpayment of $6,000 but later agreed to lower it to $4,000 when he realised that his buyer was intellectually disabled.

Every month, Mr Ng services his HDB loan with $200 from his CPF and $200 cash.

Two months ago, he came under the hostel's payroll, as it needed a training assistant to guide the residents and felt that he was a good candidate.

Madam Leng said: 'He has a good work attitude and is willing to work at night. He is also a good role model for the other residents who look up to him.'

They keep saying that they want to be a home-owner like him.


Family Still Distant

For all his successes, Mr Ng's family remain a sad enigma.

When asked about his family, he would only say that he is the fourth child with seven siblings.

He could only quote facts not emotions. His mother is dead, but his father is still alive.

Madam Leng said there has been no contact with family members.

When he got his flat, he did not contact them for a housewarming.

Once Madam Leng asked him what will he do when his father dies.

In a telling response, he turned his back and said he did not care.

Where the future is concerned, Mr Ng refused to be deterred by his past.

His next dream is to set up a hawker stall selling noodles and steamed fish.

He said: 'I know I can and I will.'


You won't find any dirt in his flat

NEAT and clean.

That was the first impression when one entered the tastefully done-up flat.

A renaissance-like painting of angels adorned the wall of the living room.

Mr Ng said proudly: 'I bought it from the hostel's thrift store.'

Two porcelain busts of women stood next to the television set, with a letter holder in the shape of a fish beside it.

Designer curtains draped across the windows with a lovely matching buckle to clip them back.

The flowers in a pretty ceramic vase smelled sweet.

A brand new hi-fi set was near the television set, and a semi-inflated soccer ball sofa looked inviting enough for this reporter to want to fall into it.

The floor was pristine white without so much as a single strand of hair to be found.

The sofa cover had the feel and smell of freshly dried laundry.

As Mr Ng walked around, he kept rubbing away the imaginary dirt on the table - it, too, was spotless.

The kitchen was equally well kept with cooking and eating utensils neatly stacked up.

Dining chairs were systematically placed at the same distance from each other.

In his bedroom, the bedsheet was so well-pulled that it would put an army recruit to shame.


Room for Guests

The hospitable Mr Ng has also bought extra mattresses so that guests could stay over any time.

The toilet was also not spared by the meticulous man.

A souvenir from his cleaner days, a sign bearing the words 'Toilet cleaning in progress' adorned the door.

There was a strong antiseptic smell and the floor was scrubbed clean.

The sink was so sparkling clean you could see your reflection in the plug hole.

Even without knowing Mr Ng's history, it was the kind of flat many a Singaporean would be only too proud to call home.