Malaysian man makes Singapore mall his home
35-year-old factory worker happy to sleep on walkways, stairs outside Jurong Point mall, which has a 24-hour supermarket, and enjoys free water, electricity and wifi.
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian man working in Singapore has found a way to settle in to a “home” at a shopping mall, a vernacular paper in the island republic reported yesterday.
It has been more than 10 years since 35-year-old Chen Jin Fu moved from Ipoh to Singapore to earn a living, but for the last four years, he has made the Jurong Point shopping mall his home, taking advantage of the facilities available there, including water, electricity and wifi.
Chen has a job that pays S$1,000 (RM3,100) a month and even pays S$250 to rent a room that is shared with other tenants but he does so only because he needs a residential address to qualify for his employment pass.
Otherwise, the electronics factory worker is happy to sleep along walkways or staircases at the mall, Singapore Press Holding’s Lianhe Wanbao reported.
“I moved out of the room I am renting because I could not get along with the other tenants,” he told the Chinese-language daily, adding that he also found the room to be hot and stuffy.
He said he prefers the cooler environment in and around the mall, which has a 24-hour supermarket.
“I can also use the free wifi and charge my phone at the mall,” Chen was quoted as saying.
Surprisingly, the mall management does not see a problem with Chen staying outside their mall and coming in to use the water and electricity points “as long as he does not pose a nuisance”, the Lianhe Wanbao reported.
“We’re heartened that shoppers enjoy using this facility,” a spokesperson for the mall was quoted as saying, referring to the complimentary wifi the mall began offering in 2015.
“If Mr Chen Jin Fu uses our facilities in an appropriate fashion without posing any nuisance or threat to the mall’s security, we warmly welcome him like any other shopper.”
Meanwhile, Chen said that there are other homeless people like him in the same area, and that he has never been chased away so far.
Despite the presence of a supermarket in the mall, Chen saves money by travelling to Johor Baru almost every weekend to shop for what he needs.
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He said that he also makes his one annual visit to Ipoh to see his elderly parents for Chinese New Year.