SINGAPORE - The wife and daughter of Mr Oh Go Seng were in shock and tears when they found out from Batam media reports that the elderly man had been living in a forest in Singapore.
Mr Oh's daughter, Seng Li, said she and her 50-year-old mother, Madam Tacih, "really didn't know about this" until they read about it a few weeks ago.
"I was shocked and cried (when I found out)," said the teenager. "I made sure (when I spoke to him) on the phone that he was living properly there."
The Batam media had picked up reports here, including from The Straits Times, about how Mr Oh had been living in the Sungei Tengah forested area in Singapore for more than 30 years.
The 79-year-old slept in a makeshift tent and grew vegetables, which he was caught selling without a permit in Teck Whye Lane last Christmas Day.
The incident was captured by a passer-by on video and uploaded on Facebook, where it went viral.
Bukit Panjang MP Liang Eng Hwa and his grassroots volunteers stepped in to help. While Mr Oh stayed in Bangkit Road with his late brother's daughter-in-law, who was also in the dark about his living conditions earlier, they helped him to secure a more permanent roof over his head.
Responding to queries from ST via phone messages earlier in the week, Seng Li said her father had always assured them that everything was fine when asked how he was doing in Singapore.
She also clarified she is only 17 years old and not a medical student as her father had told the press. She is still studying in a high school and explained that her father does not really know what "high school" is.
Her parents met in Batam, though her mother worked as a housemaid in Singapore "decades ago", she added.
While her father is Singaporean, her mother is Indonesian. They have been living apart all these years as Mr Oh had to work here and could not afford to relocate them to Singapore.
He sends them about $500 monthly, drawn from his savings from his past work as a labourer.
Seng Li is an only child, but her mother has adopted a seven-year-old boy, who is actually the son of her mother's brother. They live in a small house with two rooms.
Mr Oh had been living in the Sungei Tengah forested area in Singapore for over 30 years. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE The teenager also shared with ST some photos of her family when she was younger, explaining that more recent family photos were lost together with her mobile phone.
She has not seen her father for two years since the Covid-19 pandemic started. He used to visit them over the weekend once every two weeks before the pandemic began. They now keep in touch with brief daily phone calls at about 7.30pm.
Seng Li has never been to Singapore but hopes to do so soon.
"I want to visit him soon. But mum and I don't know if it's okay to go to Singapore. Now it's Covid-19," she said.
She also does not have a passport, while her mother's has expired.
When contacted, Mr Liang said: "We would like to help Mr Oh meet his family in Batam and are currently checking if he can do so under the newly launched Indonesia VTL (vaccinated travel lane) arrangements."
Mr Oh, who works as a gardener at a horticulture company, which pays him about $1,200 monthly, moved into a one-room rental flat in Chua Chu Kang on Feb 1, the first day of Chinese New Year.
His new housemate is still waiting for an auspicious date to join him.
When ST visited Mr Oh on Friday night (Feb 11), he said he was getting used to his new home, and complained that the water from the tap was "too cold" compared with the pond water in the forest.
However, a water heater, small refrigerator and TV set will arrive in the next few days, all donated by well-wishers, including ST readers who were moved by his story.
Mr Liang's grassroots volunteers also donated some essential items, such as a bed, bedsheets, a pillow, a table, an induction cooker, a rice cooker and some groceries.
What he needs is more storage space as the only table is filled with cooking utensils, leaving him with little space to eat. He does not have a wardrobe either.
Some old habits die hard. He still sleeps at 8pm and wakes up at 3am every day. His meals are still porridge with vegetables, including his packed lunch at work.
He visits his vegetable garden in the forest occasionally to make sure his chilli padi and other greens are growing well, and to bring some back for his meals.
On Sunday, he indulged a little and bought a mackerel from the market for $8. He fried it, kept it in a cardboard box on the basin to prevent flies, and ate it over five days.
"My biggest wish now is that my family can live with me in Singapore one day," he said in Hokkien.
But for now, he is just hoping that he can visit them in Batam soon.
