KUANTAN: The two elderly brothers who had only a ramshackle hut to call home have been moved to the Sang Riang Old Folks' Home in Triang.

But the 65-year-old K. Arumugan and Krishnan, 62, did not want to leave the hut. State MIC chief and also Sabai state assemblyman Datuk M. Davendran said it had been necessary to obtain a court order to remove the brothers to Triang, in Bera. "We tried to get them a room in Kuantan so that it would be easy for them to get medical facilities, but it was not possible," he told the New Straits Times.

Four days ago the NST highlighted the plight of the two brothers, who had been living in the hut near the Jalan Bukit Ubi Muslim cemetery without electricity, water, sanitary facilities or drainage for the past 10 years. They survived on the RM3 a day they earned from collecting old bottles and scrap metal. Davendran said the brothers were sent to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital yesterday for a medical check-up before taking them to the home. NST visited the hut yesterday evening. It was neatly closed up with planks and zinc. The surroundings looked the same. Some young coconuts and dirty old mattresses were piled up near the hut.

Vincent Nathan, who owns a flour mill nearby, said he was not aware that the brothers had moved away.

"Since the story appeared in the NST many people had visited them. I hope they will adapt to their new surroundings. They cannot go on like this at their age."