Authorities Rescue Senior Citizen Lying Helpless In Rubbish-Filled Melaka Home For Over 2 Years

By Lara Kramer  •  22 Jun 2022 in News

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The Social Welfare Department (JKM) managed to rescue a senior citizen who was lying sick and bed bound on a flimsy and filthy mattress in an abandoned building in Melaka earlier today.

The 63-year-old retiree is presumed to have spent more than two years living in a house filled with garbage and construction waste, as well as food.

He had been residing in Melaka for a long time and worked as an electrical wiring technician before falling ill, as per State Assemblyman (ADUN) Alex Seah Shoo Chin.

According to Seah, the senior citizen was unable to stand due to leg pain and relied on the kindness of those around him to provide him with refreshments.

“It was disheartening because he had to defecate near his bed since it was hard to move, making this place smell awful.

“With this situation, he needs to be relocated instantly to another location before notifying the Social Welfare Department, so that this individual’s future is secured,” he said.

Seah also stated that it took about 20 minutes for his party and the JKM representative to bring down the individual because he refused to evacuate the place.

“However, he needs to be transferred under the oversight of JKM for safety, better health, and a more stable life,” he explained.

Although the exact cause for this man’s plight has not been disclosed, many have speculated that it could be due to another form of elder abandonment.

Elder abandonment, which is legally understood as the intentional and perpetual neglect of an elderly person, is a widespread problem in Malaysia.

The victim may be abandoned in a hospital, nursing home, or public place. In most cases, the person appointed to care for a senior citizen feels overtaxed or believes that they do not possess adequate resources to support their ageing family members.

Last year, the Malaysian Healthy Ageing society stated that the government should pass an Aged Healthcare Act to protect the elderly from harm.

The society’s president, Dr Wong Teck Wee, claimed that existing regulations, such as the Domestic Violence Act, only provided legal repercussions for sexual and physical abuse of the elderly, which was woefully inadequate.

Wong also discovered that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had reported a collection of studies that showed that the incidence of elderly abuse and neglect is at approximately 15.7 percent, implying that approximately one in every seven senior citizens is abused worldwide.

If you witness or suspect an individual may be facing domestic abuse, contact the police or Talian Kasih’s hotline (15999), available 24/7.