Volunteers clear tonnes of rubbish from elderly man's house in Johor
Volunteers removing the massive volume of waste at the man's double-storey house in Taman Sentosa, Johor.
It took 50 volunteers, six hours, seven rubbish trucks, two recycling vehicles and an excavator to clear more than 30 tonnes of trash from a house in Johor Bahru on July 27 – and still the work was not completed four days later.
This came after more than 15 years of complaints from the home owner's neighbours, who have had to endure the foul stench and are worried for their health.
After a six-hour operation involving just the porch area, the volunteers proceeded to clean up the inside of the house.
Work on the double-storey property owned by the 70-year-old man was still ongoing as of July 31.
They were making plans to place him in a nursing home, after getting in touch with his family.
Fifty people from Johor Bahru city council and volunteer organisations came together to clear the massive volume of waste that had piled up in the front yard of the terrace house in Taman Sentosa.
They removed 32 tonnes of trash and five tonnes of recyclable materials.
Johor Bahru city councillor Chan San San said the clean-up was initiated after a fellow councillor requested her help to mobilise volunteers for the project.
She mulled over it for two days as the house owner was well-known for his volatile temperament.
Chinese-language media outlet Oriental Daily described as the owner as a retired teacher who lived alone.
Ms Chan said he was prone to violent outbursts, threatening garbage removal workers with sharp objects and physically intimidating anyone who tried to intervene.
Ms Chan said the city council had cleared garbage from his house several times over the years, only for the owner to pile up more trash.
Oriental Daily described the house as 'almost impassable, with debris piled up inside and outside like a mountain of garbage'.
'This left the man with nowhere to sleep and he had to sleep on the five-foot-way,' the July 27 report said.
Ms Chan said she decided to get involved as the area has become a dengue hotspot due to the man's hoarding. At least one resident had ended in the intensive care unit after contracting dengue.
The house was also a fire hazard and attracted pests like rats and snakes.
Ms Chan said the clean-up was 'a very difficult task'. 'In addition to tolerating the foul odours, we also need to be careful to prevent the owner from suddenly changing his mind and committing acts that could harm others or himself,' she said.
The elderly man had initially agreed to the clean-up, but as the operation progressed, he became upset and started yelling at the volunteers for 'stealing his belongings' and even calling them scammers, she added.
She estimated that the volunteers would need at least another week from July 31 to complete the clean-up.
But, with some parts inside the house cleared of garbage, the man could finally sleep inside the house, Ms Chan added,
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