SINGAPORE — Chin Chin Eating House along Purvis Street attracts long lines for its Anthony Bourdain-endorsed Hainanese chicken rice.

Little do people know though, that the family restaurant’s owners have been letting a homeless man sleep by one of its walls in the back alley for over a year now, and pay him about S$1,000 a month to wash their dishes.

He was among the people interviewed by TODAY, following volunteer group SW101’s survey report that among 180 people found sleeping on the streets of Singapore one night, six in 10 are employed. The study was also done by volunteer welfare organisation Montfort Care.

Mr Pang Jee Tang, 77, a permanent resident and bachelor, has been working as a construction and shipyard worker in Singapore ever since he left his family’s rice farm in Malaysia in his youth.

He is not homeless in the strictest sense.

He has a one-room rental flat at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh under his name, leased through the Housing and Development Board’s Joint Singles scheme.

Mr Pang does not live there because he finds it too cramped and uncomfortable sharing the unit with a 75-year-old man he barely knows. So he “built” a “home” on the streets near Beach Road: A makeshift space between two large flower pots placed against a wall, with a tarpaulin, plastic sheets and wooden boards as “roof”.

“I get a lot of freedom (when I sleep out). I am very happy,” Mr Pang told TODAY in Mandarin after his hour-long afternoon nap, unfazed by the fumes and heat generated by air-conditioners at the back alley. “Rain or haze, I am not scared of it. I am used to it… I have been doing this for more than 20 years.”

When TODAY dropped by on Thursday evening, Mr Pang was found sleeping soundly despite the heavy downpour. His black rubber shoes were placed beside a large white wooden board, which provided shelter from the rain.

His belongings are kept in two plastic tubs in an unlocked metal cabinet at the alley. Besides the pants and shirt he was wearing, he owns two other pairs of black trousers and one other shirt.

He bathes by splashing himself with water after he is done washing the dishes at Chin Chin.

A cat keeps Mr Pang company in the wee hours of the night. Workers at Chin Chin claimed that it responds only to Mr Pang’s “meowing” calls.

People who work nearby recalled that Mr Pang used to have the company of at least two other homeless people, but one died of old age and another man has not been seen for some time now. The men used to share space at a stairway near a Middle Road shophouse that is now under construction. The dust and noise from construction, which began in October 2015, caused Mr Pang and his friends to go their separate ways.

A co-owner of Chin Chin restaurant, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said: “Many people who saw him (Mr Pang) wanted to give him money or a new shirt, but he doesn’t want them. He is very independent and easy-going… He is not a beggar. He just prefers this kind of life. It is his character. You can’t change it.”

As for his personal life, they never really pried. Mr Pang does not give very coherent answers to questions about his personal life either.

When asked how many siblings he has, he talked about his younger brother who was raised by another family, and an older sister who already has grandchildren. It is not clear whether he is still in contact with them.

The little that people know is that Mr Pang often goes cycling and returns with more food than he needs for himself, so that he may offer it to those working at Chin Chin.

During an earlier visit, TODAY saw him refuse a cupcake offered to him by one of Chin Chin’s business owners. Later, he bought three chocolate buns from a nearby convenience store to offer his co-workers.

“I depend on myself. I work hard. I like to be active and mobile, because good health is most important,” Mr Pang said, although his eyesight seems to be deteriorating, with a cloudy-looking cornea in his left eye.

To that, he said: “No need to see the doctor. I rarely see the doctor.”

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