Homeless beg to be freed from Sungai Buloh centre

By admin-s Last updated Jul 17, 2014

(MMO) – Some of the residents at the Sungai Buloh centre for the homeless and destitute are pleading to be released, saying they have done nothing to deserve detention.

At a recent informal visit, supervisors at the Pusat Sehenti Bina Diri Sungai Buloh, which is located deep inside Bandar Sri Damansara told The Malay Mail Online that there are 34 people being held there, pending transfers to welfare homes or centres outside Kuala Lumpur.

“Help me get out of here,” Ong Yok Chu, a resident at the centre, pleaded with The Malay Mail Online.

“Why did they arrest me? I don’t beg. I have a job,” added the 72-year-old.

The elderly woman said she has been held at the Sungai Buloh centre for a month since she was arrested for sleeping rough in a bus station in Kuala Lumpur.

She questioned her arrest and detention, pointing out that she has a job selling bread, water and biscuits that earns her RM600 every month.

“They don’t allow me to make phone calls. They took my handphone away. They tell me I have to stay here for one more month,” said Ong.

At the time of the The Malay Mail Online’s visit, seven people – mostly elderly citizens were gathered at the large canteen in the Sungai Buloh centre, watching TV or walking around listlessly.

A few others were sitting down by themselves on benches outside the canteen, including some in wheelchairs and a man on crutches because he had only one leg.