A TAIWANESE man has flown home after spending more than a week living at Perth Airport.

Lee Chi Lin, 24, had nowhere to stay after failing to find work and running out of money.

Mr Lee, who had been in WA on a working visa since July, had a return ticket booked for October 5, but couldn’t afford to change his ticket to an earlier date. So he planned to stay at the airport for the next month.

He said he hadn’t showered or slept properly in a week and was living off a loaf of bread, packet noodles and tuna.

“I tried to sleep in a park but it was so cold,” he said.

The Australian Federal Police noticed Mr Lee sleeping at the airport and contacted Menzies Aviation passenger services manager Kathryn Weeks to see if she could help.

Ms Weeks contacted his airline Scoot, to see if they could change the date of his ticket at no charge on humanitarian grounds.

She said within 24 hours the airline approved the change.

“I offered him money but he wouldn’t take it from me. I considered taking him in and giving him somewhere to sleep because I really felt for him,” she said.

“He said he was fine. He was very humble, well-spoken and was so thankful that I was trying to help him.

“It’s really fantastic that the airline looked at the information and decided to help this man, because they didn’t have to.

“This is a great example of people working together for a good cause. I have two sons and I’d hope that if they were ever in this situation that someone would help them.”

The AFP said officers first noticed Mr Lee on Friday.

“At about 9.30am on Friday, during a patrol of Perth International Airport, members identified the man as needing assistance. The matter was referred to Australian Border Force. The ABF then liaised with the airline’s ground handlers,” she said.

Mr Lee said he felt happy and grateful and was looking forward to going home.

“I feel so happy that I can go home quickly. I feel really good that I met good people who helped me get out of the airport,” he said.

“I want to say thank you for the Australian people. People in Australia are so nice and always treat other countries in a good way.”