Old woman living in filth

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A 66-year-old woman’s obsessive hoarding of garbage and recyclable items at her house in Jalan 51A/232 for the past three years has become unbearable for her neighbours.

After numerous complaints from neighbours, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) conducted a clean-up operation at Ng Chow Moi’s house yesterday.

Two police reports were lodged by Ng’s neighbours against her in the past six months for disturbing the peace and polluting the environment. They also had to put up with the suffocating stench of the garbage coming from the single-storey house.

Mammoth task: MBPJ workers clearing the rubbish from Ng’s house.

At 9am yesterday, MBPJ Public Complaints Unit director Tengku Nazaruddin Zainudin, MBPJ councillor (for Zone 14) R. Selvarajan and police personnel as well as 50 enforcement officers arrived at Ng’s house with two garbage lorries.

Selvarajan said the neighbours had complained that Ng had been collecting rubbish and recyclable items and the stench was just too much to bear.

Cockroaches and rats were seen scurrying about among the piles of garbage as the workers cleaned the front part of the house. Ng’s next door neighbour, who wants to be known as Rashid, said he had to cover the common fence with an aluminium sheet as he could not stand to see the piles of rubbish.

“We have seen her bathing and defecating outside her house on the porch. The smell has become unbearable for us. We notice that she takes her bicycle out in the wee hours of the morning to collect more rubbish to bring home.

“I have even seen a snake in her compound. Her husband has died and her son and daughter-in-law used to stay with her but they eventually moved out,” he said.

It is learnt that Ng’s other daughter lives and works in Singapore.

MBPJ has issued a summons to Ng for breeding mosquitoes and four notices for keeping the house in a filty condition since last year.

Sevarajan said she collected cans and plastic bottles for recycling to earn some money but she was keeping everything at her house.

“We will sell the recyclable items and give the money to Ng.

“The welfare department officers will arrange for Ng to be examined by a doctor who will certify whether she needs to be admitted into hospital for observation,” said Selvarajan.

Ng’s son, a mechanic, who declined to be named or interviewed by reporters, arrived later.

A total of eight garbage container lorries were used to clear the rubbish stacked from floor to ceiling. It was a horrific sight when hundreds of cockroaches crawled out from beneath the rubbish bags in the living room.

“This is the worst case we have seen so far,’’ added Selvarajan.