Robin Hood of North Bridge Road
Mr Willie Yeo, 65, is wheelchair-bound and needs financial and medical help.
But his poor elderly neighbours are his priority.
"Whenever my friends, who remember me, take me out for a scrumptious meal at a grand restaurant, I would tar pau (pack in Hokkien) food back for my neighbours," he says.
It is no wonder that he earned the nickname "Robin Hood" among his neighbours at the rental flats in North Bridge Road.
Mr Yeo, a divorcee who lives alone, says he lost his job because of his many health problems.
"The bank foreclosed my flat in Yishun, and I was forced to sell it. I made only $15,000 from the sale, which went to paying back money I had borrowed," he says.
"I used to be a roving salesman more than 10 years ago, selling beads for making jewellery.
ILLNESSES
"I would lug between 20 and 30kg of beads from one place to another and travelling only by public transport," he says.
He believes that was the cause of his degenerative wear and tear of his right ankle, which resulted in metal pieces being attached to his right foot.
Mr Yeo has a litany of other problems.
"I have diabetes and hypertension, and I suffer from fatty liver. I also have asthma and testicular cancer.
"I recently underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer. I go to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a check-up twice a month. That's why the nurses all know me well," he says with a chuckle.
He is also recovering from a fractured right shoulder - believed to be due to osteoporosis - and suffers from pain in his knees.
While his medication is covered by Medifund and the hospital's endowment fund, Mr Yeo is no longer on Public Assistance since he started collecting his Central Provident Fund in 2013 after he turned 62.
"So I withdraw $540 each month, and I sell tissue paper to earn another $300 to supplement my income," he says.
Some people have rebuked him for selling tissue paper and that has depressed Mr Yeo.
"I hope people understand that we didn't ask to be sick and to be thrown suddenly into poverty.
"Who doesn't want to be healthy and earn a proper living?
"Perhaps that's why I throw myself into helping my neighbours out. I feel happy when I see them happy," he says.
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