Penampang homeless woman: Department’s help sought
Published on: Friday, May 27, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
The Council’s officers having a word with the homeless woman at her encampment on this Penampang roadside.
The District Council has roped in the Immigration Department to help an elderly, homeless woman who has been living under an umbrella on a Penampang road shoulder for the past month.A spokesman for the agency said its enforcement officers went to the hillside overlooking Donggongon, where she was camped out, in the middle of May.
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He said, at the time, the two personnel found her sitting on the grass beside the road which leads to the reservoir behind the Sports Complex.
She was leaning on her belongings, which were covered by some black garbage bags, and had a tin of biscuits, as well as several bottles of mineral water with her.
“Our staff tried talking to her but she could not answer their questions properly,” he said.
The woman could only produce a medical letter when asked about the documents she had with her.
“When they asked about any personal documents, all she could produce was a medical letter.”
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He said the latters was issued by the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan and was dated August 2, 2019.
“Our officers were unable to make out where she was from or how she had wound up on the slope.
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“They suspect that she could be a foreigner and may also be mentally unstable.”
He said the Council had sought the assistance of the Immigration Department because of this.
A spokeswoman for the latter said it would have to establish the vagrant’s background, particularly her nationality.
“Our immigration personnel might not be equipped with the skills to handle those with mental problems,” she said.
“Nevertheless, we will try our best to help this lady.
She said an investigation paper would be opened on this case.
“Once we can identify the country of her origins, we will reach out to the Consulate and ask their staff to intervene.”
A Welfare Department spokesman said staff from its Penampang branch had also checked on the woman after being alerted to her presence by the Council.
He said Welfare personnel had been accompanied by some Police officers when they went to the Penampang hillside.
“From the letter she showed our Welfare staff, we found that she had been seen by a psychiatric medical officer (MO) attached to the Emergency and Trauma Department at the Duchess of Kent Hospital,” he said.
“The MO had diagnosed her as suffering from schizophrenia.”
He said the Department’s personnel were unable to tell if she had any next of kin in Kota Kinabalu or even if she, or her family, were Malaysian citizens.
“This makes it difficult for us to intervene and have her referred to the relevant authorities.”
A spokesman for the Police Department said it would have its officers check on what was transpiring on the Penampang stretch.
“We will have to verify if the homeless lady was a danger to the public, before proceeding with further action,” he said.
When asked to elaborate on the nature of this “action”, he declined to comment.
Some local authorities can issue a “lunatic warrant” which would empower the police to nab the woman.
She would later be referred to Hospital Mesra while the pertinent agencies tried to locate her family.
When asked about the warrant, the Council spokesman said there was no such provision under its existing by laws which allowed the agency to pursue this strategy.
These spokespersons were responding to feedback from a resident who frequently runs up the slope where the homeless woman had been seen.
ELORNA of Penampang said she and others, who jogged or hiked, up the hillside had begun to think twice about doing so.
“This is because of the vagrant’s erratic behaviour,” she said.
“The lady can often be heard muttering to herself but there have also been instances where she has suddenly shouted at passers-by.
“Many of us are scared to go all the way up to the top of the slope because of her presence.”
Elorna said it looked as if the woman had made herself at home on the roadside.
“There have been occasions in the morning, where I have seen her wrapped up in a blanket, asleep under her umbrella.”
She said a strong ammonia-like whiff could be detected coming from direction of the area surrounding her encampment.
“We suspect that she might be easing herself on the verge.”
Elorna shared her observations with one of her fellow-joggers.
“My friend heard that she had been staying in another part of Kota Kinabalu with her family who either chased her out or drove her to Penampang and then left her on the roadside.
“He told me that some Good Samaritans living at the base of the slope had been bringing her food and water.
“My companion and I hope the local authorities will consider providing her with temporary refuge so that she doesn’t continue to be exposed to the rain and sun.”
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