High value of unwanted goods spark karung guni turf wars and a punch-up in Tampines
Hedy Khoo, The New Paper 24 Aug 08;
SOME people cannot wait to get rid of their used stuff, and then there are some who fight over the junk.
This was what happened when a dispute arose between rival camps in the rag-and-bone business, better known here as karung guni men.
Mr Heng Kim Suan, 37, suffered a cut and swollen jaw after he was allegedly punched by a foreign worker who was also hunting for throwaway treasure last week at Block 883, Tampines Street 84.
Mr Heng, a karung guni man of three years, recalled that he had just finished picking up used goods around the block last Wednesday afternoon and was pushing his trolley towards his pick-up.
That was when he saw a China national approach him with an empty trolley. He claimed that the man then rushed up suddenly and rammed his trolley against his.
'He shouted at me in Mandarin that he could also collect things at the same block,' Mr Heng said.
'But before I could react, he swung a punch at me. I only realised my upper lip had been cut when I put my hand to my face and it was covered with blood.'
He said the man then ran off.
Too dizzy to chase
'I tried to chase him, but I couldn't because I felt too dizzy,' Mr Heng said.
He made a phone call to the police and an ambulance took him to the hospital for treatment.
Mr Heng said: 'The medical fee was $75, but I was given two days' medical leave. Not working means I lost two days of income.'
He also lodged a police report on the same day.
The resale value of old newspapers, plastic bottles and other used items such as electrical appliances, has become so lucrative that territorial disputes are now getting common.
Mr Wong Kin Yong, 47, who has been a karung guni man for seven years, said in Mandarin: 'We have had frequent disputes with the new karung guni men over collecting in the same area, but this is the first time someone has been hit.
'You don't need a licence to be a karung guni man, but those in the trade know the unwritten rules.
'We all work on an understanding that if you drive into a carpark and you see a fellow karung guni man's lorry parked below a block, you move on.'
He said many foreign workers had joined the trade in the past five years.
He complained: 'The problem is that the newcomers don't respect the unwritten rules. They don't care if they see another karung guni man's lorry, they still insist on collecting from there too.'
Another karung guni man, who wanted to be known only as Ronnie, said: 'Five years ago, we can earn up to $300 on a good day.
Tough competition
'The minimum is at least $100 a day. But in recent years, so many people have joined the trade that to even get $60 a day is difficult.'
Ronnie, 52, said that about 20 local karung guni men collect in the Tampines area.
'We have been here for years and we know each other. We follow the rules when it comes to collection.
'There is no demarcated territory. It is, simply, whoever gets there first is entitled to collect the used goods there,' he explained.
In the face of competition, some karung guni men have found more enterprising ways to make money.
Ronnie said: 'Some karung guni men got tired of the physical labour and they now work with foreign workers. They take about seven to 20 workers, depending on the size of their lorries.'
The karung guni men will then buy whatever used goods the workers manage to collect.
'That way, they don't need to do the manual labour themselves and their profit is higher,' he said.
'If the collection is good, these karung guni man can actually make more than $1,000 a day, if he takes 10 workersaround.'
He also said that in the past, karung guni men in the Tampines area had agreed to start collecting only from 10.30am.
'This is so we do not disturb the residents with our horns and shouts too early in the morning,' he explained.
Break rules
'But the newcomers don't care. They start at 9.30am and we lose out.'
Mr Heng said: 'It's really not worth it that I got punched over used goods.'
'We may not earn as much as we used to, but if everyone respects one another and show some courtesy, there is still money to be made.
'Every day, people will still have things to discard. Rubbish will not run out.'
WHAT YOUR RUBBISH IS WORTH
$30-$50
Old television sets, varies with brand
$20
LCD Screens
33 cents
For 1kg of newspapers
30cents- 50cents
For 1kg of plastic bottles
