MyPaper
29 March 2016
A 45-year-old man has been living like a hermit for five years
under a flyover, without piped water or electricity.
Lu Guofa told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao in a report yesterday
that he had come here from Selangor, Malaysia, for work.
He spoke to Wanbao on Sunday afternoon at a forested area beside a
flyover in Jurong East's Teban Gardens, where he lives.
He had just eaten lunch and made tea as he told Wanbao how he earns
$1,000 monthly for ferrying goods, which he said is more than he
gets in Malaysia.
Mr Lu had previously lived in a flat he rented nearby but moved out
after the block was slated for redevelopment.
He then began living under the flyover and accumulated "furniture"
such as old refrigerators that he uses as cupboards.
"When I was young, I also grew up in a vegetable garden, I'm used
to this lifestyle," he told Wanbao.
"I don't like the feeling of being surrounded by four walls. Here,
I'm free and unrestricted, it suits me."
Mr Lu boils water from a small well that he dug himself, and uses
rainwater from a small pond for bathing and washing utensils.
He is single and does not intend to get married but does not feel
lonely. He reads newspapers and magazines now and then, and
occasionally heads to an orchard nearby to help his
"neighbour".
At night, he gets around by torchlight but he often sleeps early -
on a deckchair.
Mr Lu does not intend to live in Singapore for the long term. "My
dream home is to buy a plot of land in Malaysia and build a house
with cement, and plant vegetables," he said.
He added that staff from the Singapore Land Authority had visited
him twice and issued a notice to clear out by April 18.
He plans to hire a lorry to move his things and is likely to take
his "furniture" back to Malaysia.
Although he has yet to find a place to stay, Mr Lu said: "I'll
probably hide in a forest in Johor and build a shelter for
myself.
"But I will continue to come to Singapore for work."