60yo woman afraid to die alone at home often seen loitering at Ang Mo Kio void deck

SINGAPORE: A woman in her 60s said that she feared dying alone at home, so she would often sit at the void deck of an HDB block in Ang Mo Kio and even spend the night there.

According to a Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News report, other residents said that the elderly lady would sometimes spend the night on the benches at the void deck of Block 345 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 over the past year. The woman, who was surnamed Chen, clarified that she was not homeless. Chen, who’s in her 60s, said she lives with her friends in a rental flat at Ang Mo Kio Street 31. She told reporters that after reading news reports of seniors who went undiscovered after dying alone at home, she became worried as her friends who lived with her were seldom home.

The elderly woman said she used to work odd jobs at a company cafeteria but stopped working over a year ago after a fall. She added that she was recuperating and hoped to return to work once she recovered. The woman told reporters that her siblings were aware she was there, but she did not want them to worry. She added that staff from welfare agencies also offered help, but they understood her situation after she talked to them.

An online user claiming to have seen two elderly individuals working as security at city hall for an NDP rehearsal has sparked an online conversation about suitable jobs for the elderly in Singapore.

The online user took to social media on Sunday (July 23) to share a photo of two individuals donning Aetos Security vests. “These two grannies were seen deployed as security personnel at the recent NDP preview,” the caption read. “Work till you drop dead much?”

The screenshot of the video, which was recently shared on Facebook, got the attention of many Singaporeans. While some people saw nothing wrong with elderly people showing initiative to keep working, others questioned whether such security personnel jobs are a good fit for the elderly.

Read related: “Singapore is one of few countries where elderly seniors are seen working manual labour. Quite embarrassing” — Netizens react to photo of “two grannies” donning security personnel vests at event