http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,201043,00.html?
WHAT A DUMP 1
Rubbish inside and out
Woodlands resident's junk worries neighbour, who says it once even reached her doorstep
May 06, 2009
CLEAN-UP: Madam Zhou (main picture), clearing away the junk after pressure from Sembawang Town Council. TNP PICTURES: HAN YONG MING
SHE'S known as the 'hoarder queen of Woodlands'.
Madam Zhou Guili, 66, collects so much junk that her five-room flat often overflows with it.
Anyone stepping out of the lift on the eighth storey of Block 611, Woodlands Ring Road, would be greeted by a pile of newspapers, boxes, pails and plastic bags.
There was even a huge enamel Buddha statue outside her flat when The New Paper visited on 21Apr.
According to a neighbour, Madam Mageswari Govindaragoo, 31, the 'mountain of trash' would sometimes stretch all the way to her door.
Inside Madam Zhou's flat were more piles of old newspapers, cardboard boxes and other junk.
Madam Zhou has lived there with the eldest of her four sons for about 10 years.
The interior of her five-room flat.
Said Madam Mageswari, a housewife who has lived opposite Madam Zhou's flat for about four years: 'It's dangerous. Sometimes she would even put bottles of thinner outside. What if the trash catches fire? I'm worried for my kids' safety.'
She claimed that Madam Zhou's junk has even blocked the staircase at times.
She said she had repeatedly called the Sembawang Town Council to complain about her neighbour.
When contacted, a town council spokesman said it regularly sends officers down to Madam Zhou's flat.
And when The New Paper was there, some officers were helping to remove some of the junk.
The spokesman said the town council had got her a job as a cleaner last year.
Cleaning job
It is understood that she lost the job because she would be collecting junk when she was supposed to be cleaning. Madam Zhou admitted that she was sacked but would not say why.
She said she started collecting junk after her husband walked out on the family more than 20 years ago.
To support her children, who were still in school, she cleaned tables in the day. At night, she would go around on her bicycle to collect junk to sell.
She remains fiercely independent. Every day, she still goes around the neighbourhood on her bicycle picking up what others have thrown out.
She said she sells some of it to karung guni men, or she takes what she can on her bicycle to a place in Sembawang that buys junk. She said she gets $1 to $2 a day. She hoards the rest at home.
Her son who lives with her, army technician Chen Weihong, 37, said his mother had some money left from her CPF savings.
But when asked, Madam Zhou said she had used her CPF savings to pay her debts.
Mr Chen said he used to give her money occasionally, but not anymore.
'When we (her sons) give her money, she refuses to take it,' he said.
Mr Chen said he and his brothers have tried telling their mother to stop collecting junk, but she had ignored their pleas.
'We're worried,' he said. 'She has been in a few accidents before - she doesn't think twice about cycling on the expressway at night, even without safety lights.'
Madam Zhou said she prefers to earn her own keep.
Mr Chen added that his mother needed something to keep herself occupied.
'She's not the kind to settle down quietly at home,' he said.
Han Yongming and Jovita Chua, newsroom interns
WHAT A DUMP 1
Rubbish inside and out
Woodlands resident's junk worries neighbour, who says it once even reached her doorstep
May 06, 2009
CLEAN-UP: Madam Zhou (main picture), clearing away the junk after pressure from Sembawang Town Council. TNP PICTURES: HAN YONG MING
SHE'S known as the 'hoarder queen of Woodlands'.
Madam Zhou Guili, 66, collects so much junk that her five-room flat often overflows with it.
Anyone stepping out of the lift on the eighth storey of Block 611, Woodlands Ring Road, would be greeted by a pile of newspapers, boxes, pails and plastic bags.
There was even a huge enamel Buddha statue outside her flat when The New Paper visited on 21Apr.
According to a neighbour, Madam Mageswari Govindaragoo, 31, the 'mountain of trash' would sometimes stretch all the way to her door.
Inside Madam Zhou's flat were more piles of old newspapers, cardboard boxes and other junk.
Madam Zhou has lived there with the eldest of her four sons for about 10 years.
The interior of her five-room flat.
Said Madam Mageswari, a housewife who has lived opposite Madam Zhou's flat for about four years: 'It's dangerous. Sometimes she would even put bottles of thinner outside. What if the trash catches fire? I'm worried for my kids' safety.'
She claimed that Madam Zhou's junk has even blocked the staircase at times.
She said she had repeatedly called the Sembawang Town Council to complain about her neighbour.
When contacted, a town council spokesman said it regularly sends officers down to Madam Zhou's flat.
And when The New Paper was there, some officers were helping to remove some of the junk.
The spokesman said the town council had got her a job as a cleaner last year.
Cleaning job
It is understood that she lost the job because she would be collecting junk when she was supposed to be cleaning. Madam Zhou admitted that she was sacked but would not say why.
She said she started collecting junk after her husband walked out on the family more than 20 years ago.
To support her children, who were still in school, she cleaned tables in the day. At night, she would go around on her bicycle to collect junk to sell.
She remains fiercely independent. Every day, she still goes around the neighbourhood on her bicycle picking up what others have thrown out.
She said she sells some of it to karung guni men, or she takes what she can on her bicycle to a place in Sembawang that buys junk. She said she gets $1 to $2 a day. She hoards the rest at home.
Her son who lives with her, army technician Chen Weihong, 37, said his mother had some money left from her CPF savings.
But when asked, Madam Zhou said she had used her CPF savings to pay her debts.
Mr Chen said he used to give her money occasionally, but not anymore.
'When we (her sons) give her money, she refuses to take it,' he said.
Mr Chen said he and his brothers have tried telling their mother to stop collecting junk, but she had ignored their pleas.
'We're worried,' he said. 'She has been in a few accidents before - she doesn't think twice about cycling on the expressway at night, even without safety lights.'
Madam Zhou said she prefers to earn her own keep.
Mr Chen added that his mother needed something to keep herself occupied.
'She's not the kind to settle down quietly at home,' he said.
Han Yongming and Jovita Chua, newsroom interns
