Daily Lessons from Life 15 October 2014 - Others turned up noses, but she cleaned him upMelody ZaccheusThe Straits TimesWednesday, Oct 15, 2014

Hkg SAR Protest Updates - "Police brutality video at Hong Kong protest sparks outrage": It was WRONG. No two way about it. YET, it will be naïve to expect no such behaviours from some members of the Police Force. They have to pay for their BAD unlawful behaviours! Will it stop there? Probably not. There are MORE hot headed macho type within the force. The protesters who break the laws will pay for their crimes. So, will these policemen who took the laws into their own hands!

"Others turned up noses, but she cleaned him up - The Straits Times Oct 15, 2014

SHE was just 18 when her parents died. So when Ms Noriza A. Mansoor saw Mr Tan Soy Yong covered in faeces in public, she rushed to his aid, wanting to do what she never managed to do for her parents: clean and care for him. "I didn't get the chance to clean up and care for my own parents, so I did what I could for Mr Tan," said Ms Noriza, 49, a bedsheet promoter.

Ms Noriza grabbed a pail of water and used tissue paper to clean him up. She also bought a new pair of shorts for Mr Tan.

Ms Noriza, who speaks some Hokkien and Mandarin, spoke to him calmly. She said: "Tears rolled down his eyes... He said nobody had helped him before."

A passer-by, currency trader Goh Rong Ren, 32, helped pay for a cab ride while Ms Noriza accompanied them to the foot of their flat in Potong Pasir. Mr Goh, through a friend, contacted The New Paper to highlight the good deed.

The story ran on Monday. Her story has since gone viral online, with many netizens praising Ms Noriza for her kindness and empathy.

Ms Noriza, a divorcee with five children aged 10 to 25, said she will continue to look out for the elderly couple. "I will continue to reach out to the couple on my days off. I think they need someone to talk to and cheer them up."

When The Straits Times visited the couple at their flat, the flat's floor and walls were soiled with faeces, with the stench wafting through the common corridor. Potong Pasir MP Sitoh Yih Pin said the Citizens Consultative Committee there has been helping the couple. They are also helped by welfare groups.

Mr Tan, a former cleaner, said they have a son and daughter who both work overseas. Speaking in Hokkien, Madam Lee said she washes his shorts twice a day but has no strength to do more or clean the flat. "Whenever we eat out, he will soil himself. It's embarrassing and people avoid us at the coffee shop because of the smell.""

What an inspirational story. A good act. An act of angel no less!

Lessons for me are:

1. there are angels among us. It may not be us but that is ok as long as there are angels among us! It is natural to stay away from a stranger who soiled himself or herself due to the unpleasant smells and all. So, what Ms Noriza had done is simply remarkable and selfless. An act by an angel as far as I am concerned!;

2. the living conditions of the couple revealed something quite depressing. With helps from the MP and other charitable organizations, the elderly couple are still not managing. What type of help had been extended and if there is a systemic and holistic approach to helping people like them to help themselves? Hopefully they are the exceptions rather than the rules. Otherwise, it is very very depressing. Of course, some will ask about the 2 children that they had whom are working overseas. We won't know what are the specific circumstances here. Professional helps from Ministry of Social and Families Development (MSF) are perhaps required?;

3. what Ms Noriza had done put me to shame as I doubt I will be able to do what she had done even after reading her selfless and kind act. I guessed this is one reason why I am happy to donate money to some social charities but not volunteering to be physically caring for some of their beneficiaries.

I wish Ms Noriza a good life as with her circumstance as a single mum with 5 kids, it must be quite challenging as well. I also want to laud ST for picking up on this kind act so that many more people in Singapore know about it. Maybe, just maybe, there will be some rub-off effect on inspiring non-angels among us to do the angelic thing?

I salute her again with utmost respect for this incredible kind act!