S'pore couple with a 'give me, give me' attitude
No money for baby food, got money for handphone
By Low Ching Ling
March 15, 2006 THEY were driven out of their flat by the bank, kicked out of a welfare home and made to sleep with their infant in a tent by the beach.
Makes you angry, doesn't it?
But if you think you should be mad with the HDB, OCBC Bank and the welfare organisations, think again.
It appears the Adams may have themselves to blame.
With everybody from Comcare to charities handing out money to help those in need, the Adams have become welfare shoppers.
They called The New Paper to complain about their plight. But what we learnt was disturbing.
Mr Adam may not have enough money for milk powder. But there's enough for cigarettes and handphones.
The couple, whom we are not naming to protect the children, don't feel a need to run around. Various organisations are doing it for them.
Mr and Mrs Adam have a 5-month-old son and two older children aged 4 and 5.
They said that their problems started when they bought a $190,000 three-room HDB flat in Tampines in December 2003.
They got a $40,000 housing grant from CPF and a $149,900 loan (the $100 deposit had been paid) from OCBC.
The family had previously been living with Mr Adam's parents in their four-room Tampines flat, but they could not get along with Mr Adam's father.
Then, they said, they were earning $3,000 a month working as food-stall assistants.
But when we checked, we found out that the wife had already lost her job before they bought the flat and they defaulted after just two payments in 2004 (see other report).
Mr Adam lost his job soon after that.
He later found a job as a cleaner, earning $800 a month. Mrs Adam claimed she couldn't find a job and so stayed home with the children.
The children were in pre-school and their monthly fees cost $122 each.
They also owed money on conservancy charges.
Then they pulled their two children out of school. They tried to get a smaller rental flat.
HDB rules didn't allow them to rent while they still owned their three-room flat.
Things worsened three months later when Mr Adam claimed he was retrenched.
When they were locked out of their repossessed flat on 28 Sep 2005, they spent the first night with Mr Adam's parents.
Mrs Adam was already eight months' pregnant then.
The next day, the family went to North East CDC (NECDC), which then referred them to St George's Place, a crisis shelter. Three weeks after they moved there, Mrs Adam gave birth. It was already October 2005.
Mrs Adam received $1,500, the first instalment of her $6,000 baby bonus.
But she said she used most of it to pay off the $1,300-plus she owed in utilities and conservancy fees.
On 2 Feb, the family claimed they were told to leave the shelter. Their baby was then 4 months old.
Ms Kerry Wilcock, their case manager at the shelter, said: 'Though it's a crisis shelter, people can't stay here forever.
'We gave them two days to appeal to extend their stay, but they chose to leave instead.'
She said the family left their room in a mess and also damaged some things.
'They stayed with us for four months and we gave them many chances to try be more responsible with their finances, employment, etc.
'The two-day appeal was only given as a last resort.'
Ms Wilcock, 36, said she set up meetings with the family several times, but they often did not turn up.
Mr Adam also did not actively look for a job and hung around the shelter most of the time, she said.
What puzzled her was that he had money for cigarettes but not for milk powder and diapers.
He and his wife also had money for handphones.
In the last one month, Mrs Adam had asked the shelter to contact her on three different pre-paid lines.
Ms Wilcock said: 'The family doesn't seem to be aware of their own issues and to take responsibility for themselves.'
After leaving the shelter, the family claimed they slept in a tent at Pasir Ris Beach.
Mrs Adam went to NECDC for help on 7 Feb, and an officer advised her to move back to the shelter.
Mrs Adam also promised the officer to meet with him and the shelter's director the next day to discuss the 'accommodation issue' and 'the family's action plan', the CDC spokesman said.
Again, the family did not turn up, and they could not be contacted later.
That day, Mrs Adam claimed a park ranger told them not to stay there anymore as they had a baby with them. So they moved in with Mr Adam's parents.
In the last one month, Mrs Adam often SMS-ed this reporter to say her family was in dire financial straits.
Even as The New Paper called the different agencies to verify their story, the NECDC found Mr Adam a full-time job as a car polisher. He started work on 20 Feb. HDB allowed them to rent a two-room flat in the Chin Swee area and they moved last week after Mr Adam got his pay.
So they should be happy that everything worked out, right?
Last month, Mrs Adam complained to us that she could not get the keys before paying a deposit.
The rent for a two-room flat is between $123 and $165 a month, an HDB spokesman said.
We told Mrs Adam it was only fair that they pay the rent now that her husband has a job.
But she was unhappy when we suggested that she and her husband should learn to be more independent.
She said: 'I never depend on anyone... If I'm stable, do you think I need help?'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A HINT OF WHAT THE ADAMS GOT
FROM THE NORTH EAST CDCMonthly cash grants of $250.
Cash vouchers for their monthly utilities, and service and conservancy charges under the Self-Reliance Programme from last November to January this year.
The CDC put their older children under a childcare scheme last year - they were given a start-up grant of $922 and a monthly subsidy of $220 for five months.
Immediate food vouchers, which was granted to them last September, October and December.
Mrs Adam said most of the cash grant was used to pay the monthly rental of $250 at the shelter. This includes food vouchers, rations and utilities.
The CDC spokesman said Mrs Adam first got their help in August 2003, but she did not turn up for any appointments despite call reminders.
In December 2004, she again went to the CDC for help. But again, she did not make any contact with the CDC's officer.
It appears she only wanted the immediate food vouchers.
MUISThe family has also been getting cash grants and food vouchers from Muis (the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) since last August.
OTHERSMrs Adam said the Asian Women's Welfare Association Family Service Centre also gave them free diapers and milk powder.
Taken from:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,103457,00.html?
