From straitstimes.com:
Family of 12 faces eviction for not paying bank loan
Ten children, an ailing wife, and a $10,000 dollar debt paint a
bleak picture
By E-von Yeung
Mdm Latipah (left) weeps as her husband Mr Mohd Ali described their
financial woes and fears for their children's future. --
STRAITSTIMES.COM
A FAMILY of 12 has been sent packing, literally, from their flat
next month for not keeping up with bank loan payments.
Mr Mohd Ali, 40, his wife Latipah, 35, and their 10 children will
soon be evicted from their home, in which they have lived for more
than four years.
According to Mr Ali, they owe the bank about $10,000 in arrears and
have been unable to pay up.
'We want our family all together. We have some financial problems
also. I have a lot to pay,' said Mr Ali.
The picture is bleak. Mr Ali said he earns only about $800 a month
as a cleaner, his wife has a heart problem and is unable to work,
and they have 10 children to support as well as medical bills to
pay.
Already, servicing the bank loan for their 3-room flat in Yishun
takes more than $800 a month, he said.
Homeless again
Four years ago, the family had been homeless for two years, living
at Busoorah Street and sleeping on cardbard boxes.
They would go to the nearby Sultan mosque for their showers.
The family of 12 had also slept outdoors at Yishun Town Gardens for
a month.
From the youngest child, who is two years old, to the eldest, who
is 17 years old, the kids had to stop school at times, for up to
two years at end.
Both husband and wife fear the possibility that social services
might take their children away from them.
'I'm worried we don't have a home. I'm worried about my kids. Every
night I pray that God will protect my family,' said Mdm
Latipah.
Mr Ali already had problems keeping up with payments to the bank
OCBC since the second year they moved in.
Despite receiving a total of about $16,500 worth of aid since March
2004 - from the Community Development Council (CDC), the Islamic
Religious Council of Singapore, Yishun Family Services Centre and
MP Mr K Shanmugam, among others - Mr Ali's heavy debt did not go
away.
Financial prudence key
Mr Ali said his family had moved out of their rental flat more than
4 years ago.
They already had difficulties in meeting the monthly rental of
about $300 but yet, Mr Ali went on to buy his sister's flat in
Yishun by taking a $150,000 bank loan.
This decision proved to be a burden too heavy to bear.
Mr Shanmugam said that financial management is important when
making decisions on property purchases.
He told straitstimes.com: 'When we make financial decision which
are bad or imprudent, it's not possible for someone else to come
and bail you out.
'But we must try to do the best we can because there are children
involved. Our task is to not sit and moralise, but to try and help
in whatever we can.'
On behalf of the family, Mr Shanmugam has already appealed to OCBC
to grant them more time to repay the bank loan.
He has also written to HDB to expedite a request for a rental
flat.
After reviewing the case, HDB has shortened the usual waiting
period of 3 1/2 years to six months.
OCBC Bank's Head of Consumer Secured Lending Gregory Chan told
straitstimes.com that it is only after exhausting 'all reasonable
possibilities' that 'the bank resorts to foreclosure'.
Extensions can be granted on a case-to-case basis, on compassionate
grounds, he said.
straitstimes.com understands that OCBC has already extended the
original date of eviction from Nov 16 to Dec 31.
The HDB has said it will not and cannot intervene because a loan is
a private contract between a mortgager and the bank.
Families like Mr Ali's who are facing financial difficulties do
have various alternatives to get help, according to Singapore
Children Society's Senior Counsellor Noor Sida Abdullah.
'If they have school-going children, we can assist them with the
School Pocket Money Fund. If they require financial assistance,
that's where we can link them to the CDC, to self-help agencies. We
also work closely with the MP, if they need advocacy.'
But Ms Sida said financial prudence is paramount, and early
intervention - or seeking help - before debts become too big to
handle.
Still, for Mr Ali and his family, it seems that all avenues of help
for this family have been explored, and wandering homeless on the
streets may soon become a tragic reality.
