delivery man lives on lorry with pregnant Vietnamese wife

[Jah_rastafar_I]

NOMAD: Mr Wang eats and sleeps on the back of his lorry with his wife, who is four months pregnant. They cook using a portable stove and sleep on cardboard that doubles as a bed. (PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO)


A 44-year-old delivery man who has been living on his lorry with his pregnant wife hopes to rent a room in time for his baby.

For Wang Baohua, his lorry is both his means of living and his home, Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday.

He had split from his ex-wife seven years ago and sold his three-room flat before going to Vietnam to work.

He returned to Singapore in 2013 and stayed with an uncle for some time before moving into a rental apartment. However, his monthly salary of $1,000 was not enough to pay the rent of $600.

He started living on his lorry to save on costs and got his new Vietnamese wife, whom he married in August last year, to share in his nomadic life on wheels.

Wanbao visited Mr Wang at the Changi Beach Park on Tuesday and found that the pair's "furniture" included a portable stove, cooking utensils and cutlery, cardboard that doubled as a bed and laundry that was hung out to dry on the vehicle.

The couple sleep on the back of the lorry every night and wash up at a nearby public toilet.

Mr Wang starts his job delivering goods at 3am and his wife follows him on his journeys.

He said his boss is very understanding and lets him live on his lorry, even offering to lend him $10,000 to buy a house.

He is thankful to his boss and his colleagues who have been "very helpful".

As his wife is four months pregnant, Mr Wang hopes to rent a flat but has been unsuccessful so far.

He said some landlords do not let them cook in the house while others do not welcome pregnant women.

"So we decided to save the money and use it on gynaecologist fees," he added.

Mr Wang had also tried applying for a two-room or rental flat from the Housing Board but was rejected as his spouse is a foreigner and his $1,900 salary does not fit the rental-flat requirements.

"We can bear hardship but my wife is already four months pregnant and it's not very convenient for her to climb up and down. Now, we just hope that our baby will have a comfortable home when he's born," said Mr Wang.

His wife told Wanbao that she was already aware of his situation before she came here and that she "doesn't mind" because she loves him.

Mr Wang added: "Even though we do not have much, in terms of material things, we are satisfied as long as we have each other."

 

[eatshitndie]

homelessness is epidemic. there are makeshift tents erected all over california from sf to san diego. right in the heart of sillycon valley, i'll be posting a series of images that will prove the problem is getting worse in the wealthy bay area. in sg, it's camping for an enriching outdoor experience.

 

[eatshitndie]

homeless beng in san jose.

 

[halsey02]

I thought $8 cow from Penang once said....you can get a home with _______ ( fill in the blanks) oh!..does this privilege only for certain type of people??? who once used to live in tents on east coast park?

 

[eatshitndie]

I thought $8 cow from Penang once said....you can get a home with _______ ( fill in the blanks) oh!..does this privilege only for certain type of people??? who once used to live in tents on east coast park?

for sinkies, it's a pleasant outdoor experience of leisure and their own choosing, nothing to do with being homeless. :p

 

[Narong Wongwan]

This is sinkie version of trailer park trash.....

 

[eatshitndie]

more trashy homeless encampments in wealthy sillycon valley. this is the notorious "jungle" of san jose, right in the heart of the city at guadalupe park.

 

[johnny333]

In the old days people would live in the shop houses they owned. Their businesses & home was the same & it saved them $. This was made illegal by the PAP.

Never understood why the PAP didn't allow people to stay in their places of businesses?
It lead to the downtown core being dead at night.

 

[eatshitndie]

In the old days people would live in the shop houses they owned. Their businesses & home was the same & it saved them $. This was made illegal by the PAP.

Never understood why the PAP didn't allow people to stay in their places of businesses?
It lead to the downtown core being dead at night.

that's not true. there are shop houses at hdb blocks where proprietors of shops below can live in flats just above those shops via private staircases.

 

[johnny333]

that's not true. there are shop houses at hdb blocks where proprietors of shops below can live in flats just above those shops via private staircases.

I was referring to the downtown area.

Nowadays if you want to live in the down town area you would have to spend $$$ for an upscale condo that are popping up there.

 

[eatshitndie]

I was referring to the downtown area.

Nowadays if you want to live in the down town area you would have to spend $$$ for an upscale condo that are popping up there.

there are upper floors at shophouses in chinatown and little india that are still occupied. many of them are for rent.

 

[PTADER]

This is sinkie version of trailer park trash.....

Good job my fellow Chinese dog. We Chinks are trailer park trash when we fall on hard times and have to live on lorries. Just change the guy to a m&d or shitskin and the outcome will be different. This is fucking ridiculous and that's why I call this the Chinese dog syndrome.

I will promote you to a higher Chinese dog level. You deserve the promotion. Woof!

 

[halsey02]

that's not true. there are shop houses at hdb blocks where proprietors of shops below can live in flats just above those shops via private staircases.

PAP is the landlord here they own every piece of land here, they can change anything they pleases as long as there are people who for 5 decades still allow them....remember a case many years back at Balestier Road Shopping Centre ( oppo TMC)?, the pregnant wife of the paint store died when a fire broke out downstairs in the shop & she could not escape down the stairs that was wooden! Those days people used to live upstairs the shops. ( now the shop is a POSB Branch).

Now the news is out on this man & his pregnant Vietnamese wife....you bet, Nparks is checking ( misuse of public amenities), NEA ( pollution), LTA ( usage of commercial vehicle), Home Office ( is the Vietnamese woman on social visit pass), MOM etc..

It is their world....

 

[zhihau]

Mr Wang added: "Even though we do not have much, in terms of material things, we are satisfied as long as we have each other."

Outdoor sex is the bestest! Altogether now!!! Loot ah!!!

 

[johnny333]

there are upper floors at shophouses in chinatown and little india that are still occupied. many of them are for rent.

There used to be more but nowadays there are very few left. Many of these old shop houses have been turned into upper end shops, offices e.g. Koek Road(around Cuppage area), Mohammad Sultan area,...

Once the gov't forcibly acquires these shop houses, they are either demolished or converted into commercial rentals & not for people to live in.

 

[butoh6050]

The vietnamese lady is feeling right at home. She is probably writing home to say how big a lorry she is living in.

 

[johnny333]

...
Now the news is out on this man & his pregnant Vietnamese wife....you bet, Nparks is checking ( misuse of public amenities), NEA ( pollution), LTA ( usage of commercial vehicle), Home Office ( is the Vietnamese woman on social visit pass), MOM etc..

It is their world....

I also expect the PAP gov't to clamp down on this couple because they are getting away from paying $$$ to the gov't

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Good job my fellow Chinese dog. We Chinks are trailer park trash when we fall on hard times and have to live on lorries. Just change the guy to a m&d or shitskin and the outcome will be different. This is fucking ridiculous and that's why I call this the Chinese dog syndrome.

I will promote you to a higher Chinese dog level. You deserve the promotion. Woof!

Use wrong nick to post?
Also your harping on m&ds and shitskins reminds of another esteemed moniker.
Anyways there's nothing chink bashing about my statement.....if anything trailer trash has origins as derogatory term for angmos not chinks.
You're barking up the wrong tree

 

[spotter542]

How come nobody asks , who did Wang vote for ? :p

 

[PTADER]

Use wrong nick to post? Also your harping on m&ds and shitskins reminds of another esteemed moniker. Anyways there's nothing chink bashing about my statement.....if anything trailer trash has origins as derogatory term for angmos not chinks. You're barking up the wrong tree

Yup, sorry. Forgot to change it.