What’s the point of this article? This guy brought all those trouble himself in the first place!

Is that mean many poor people borrow from load shark? There are many poor people around, but I’m sure many got more spine then him!

No money, still servicing HDB load and still took in a foreign wife and adopting foreign child? He can’t even take care of himself, and still borrow from load shark?

They are LOAN SHARK, not friends! That is what they do to people who borrow from them! Never read newspaper or heard of such horror story before? Idiot?

Inflation maybe destructive, but this guy destroy himself in the first place!

Nobody – government, CID, or individual would be interested such case!

If Mr Sim’s annual income is less than $18,000 despite some good months, it’s best for him to find a job that pays just under $1,500 and apply for the Work Support.

You just have to game the system sometimes.

I don’t agree that paying off the principal amount absolve Mr Sim of his loan obligation, which seems to be what the article is suggesting.

An advice for future Mr Sims: seek help earlier. Borrowing (from loanshark or credit card) to finance your lifestyle is just digging a deeper hole.

ST Oct 19, 2007

First-time loan shark gets jail under new law
THE courts have signalled a tougher treatment of first-time loan sharks who, since last year, may face a jail term of up to two years.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee)

http://www.parliament.gov.sg/parlweb/get_highlighted_content.jsp?docID=883671&hlLevel=Terms&links=LOAN,SHARK&hlWords=%20loan%20shark%20&hlTitle=&queryOption=1&ref=http://www.parliament.gov.sg:80/reports/public/hansard/section/20080228/20080228_S0004.html#1

Police has stepped up enforcement. Dr Teo asked how many loanshark cases have been resolved. Last year, six syndicates were smashed through intelligence-based operations, resulting in the arrest of 37 syndicate members. These syndicates were believed to have had a pool of 2,000 debtors, and had given out loans amounting to a total of more than $1 million. In total, 392 persons were arrested last year as compared to 294 the year before. In a landmark case, a loanshark’s assets were confiscated. For the first time since 2001, the number of harassment and unlicensed moneylending cases fell from 10,221 in 2006 to 9,762 last year. So it is down about 4.5%. But I agree with Members who have spoken that the number remains unacceptably high.

This guy should not even bother to get married and less so to adopt a child. This is the cruel nature of life in Singapore ! If one belongs to the low income group or for this case, he is neither low or middle income group (worst than low income – in my view), one should be smart enough to understand that he should just live a simple life knowing that if anything is to happen, no one will really help. Unless you start getting media attention and hopefully donations will pour in. Nevertheless, definitely not in his case (I can easily find more pityful cases in my neighborhood)

I can understand why Mr Lm borrowed from loanshark as no bank will ever extent a credit facility or loan to a person like him. That is probably the most practical option for him at that point of time, hence he has to pay for the consequent now. Too bad.

There again, there are indeed many similar stories like this repeating itself in Singapore. Sometimes, it just make us wonder what going wrong in our society?

Mr Sim may want to try to apply for a driver job in SBS since they always announced driver can earn between $2-$3K per month inclusive of overtime etc etc. This will help him to afford one foreign wife and child. He must also know if his wife/child need medical attention in future, it will be very expensive here as they are non PR or citizen. If his earnings goes up it will be easy for him to apply PR for his wife/child especially working in a ’state’ owe company.

This Article is very similar to one, formerly writtened by Leong Sze Hian about a friend of his friend. Whilst I believed both articles were writtened to highligh the plights brought about by the high costs of livings and the cold treatments citizens in troubles get from their leaders, both said citizens can be said to be more responsible for their own doings. Hence, they are not suitable to be mentioned in TOC for they are likely to be chastised, as we have seen in both instances.

Although there were sympathies from some kind souls, the more analytical are likely to rebuke those who got themselves into financial troubles. Sympathies and helps are to those befallen by health problems, mishaps and uncontrollable causes.

Personally, I hope similar cases will not be highlighted in TOC.

patriot.

[...] Inflation & Cost of Living – TOC: Inflation drove this man to loansharks [...]

Well at least this article is slightly better written than Selene’s article…somewhat, but I agree with patriot that it seems the circumstances are worsened by not so much rising prices but more by really really bad decisions.

Maybe the police could help Mr Sim install a better CCTV because no level of technology is going to help if the footage (based on the screenshot) has such poor contrast and resolution.

Two questions though, has Mr Sim tried to find a better, more stable job (like the bus driver option mentioned earlier) and is Mrs Sim working as well?

30% of Singaporeans earn $1,500 per month and below. Some even manage with wife and kids on $1,000 per month.

I can’t comment specifically on Mr Sim’s case since I don’t know his circumstances.

I’m not saying its easy to manage on an income of $1+k pm either.

However, in general, sometimes, it is also a question of learning to manage expenses more prudently.

There was a case once where a family cannot afford to pay for electricity but still must buy a TV on instalment.

u r just another little man , they of course dun bother . i have pity for u . still strong . change them when u have the chance

lim on June 26th, 2008 12.37 pm

“Some even manage with wife and kids on $1,000 per month.”
“I’m not saying its easy to manage on an income of $1+k pm either.”

I am saying it is very very difficult lah for a family of three. Take home pay : 80% (cpf deduction lah) of $1,000/- = S800/- X 0.93 (assuming all spent lah for necessities bcos so little lah and GST of 7% lah) = $744/-.

“30% of Singaporeans earn $1,500 per month and below”

In your mind, what should we tell this 30% of Singaporeans. 30% (emphasis intended). Make sure that both of the spouses are working ? Orelse, do not have a kid lah ? Now, look at our dear situation of our own 30% Singaporeans. Never, mind lah, it is manageable lah, some even manage with wife and kids on $1,000 per month (just speculating on the thought of what our dear gahmen would say).

His bad financial decisions aside, one must look at the inaptness of the police in dealing with this kind of cases. How hard would it be to station someone to trap the loanshark? I mean, he got vandalised 3 times in one week. At most, the police would have to wait for 4 days. Instead, the case gets dragged on for months, even our million dollars ministers got involved.

Well, it wouldn’t be difficult if he just supply the police the name and phone no. of the loan shark, isn’t it?

Why should the police be interested? Our police force certainly won’t want to encourage anyone who think they could just borrow from load shark and report the loan shark to police, isn’t it?

Loan shark is not like bank where branches are open everywhere! The article didn’t even ask whether is he a gambler!

Mr. Sim is not illiterate! He know how to write letters to different government department and even ministers! Many poor people don’t even know how to do so!

Man of principle? My foot!

MPs can’t help in this type of case

This will be the scenerio when the two casinos open for gambling activities. When people are driven to desperation, they try their “luck” to win at gambling dens but will end up borrowing from illegal loansharks and bring this woe upon themselves. Worse scenerio, the neighbours get their share of troubles. I am not saying that Mr Sim is a gambler but taking him as an example that if people borrowed money from legal loanshark (credit) or illegal loanshark to tie them over their financial woes, they should know that if they could not pay up the loans they would sink further into financial debts.
The high-profile lifestyle that we often watch on TV is influencing our young and old to live a life beyond their means. Could we do away this mentality of ’spend first and pay later’?

why waste resources on CCTV? better save it up for big pay increment for 1st class minister.or get WCS to do guard duty for Mr Sim loh. since so many hiccups happened in his ministry. do something to repair the damage. i sponsor chair & mosquito coil. what are the rest of u sponsoring? u people don’t alway take, start to give. ok.

singaporespirit,

well say ! – ‘do away with spend first & pay later’. who allow this mentality in the first place??? SINGAPOREAN that is. cos u allow the garmen to allow the business world to run this type of mentality on our society. not the garmen fault, it is yrs truely. by not doing anything , singaporean indirectly agrees to it.

Cant even feed himself but marry a foreign wife, adpot a chld for frae she would be forced into child prostitution, so9 NOBLE, hahahahah

It seems to me the authors are trying too hard to blame Mr Sim’s current predicament on the government.

The various agencies are depicted in a negative light, while Mr Sim is depicted as a “man of principle” who has saved a poor girl from a fate of child prostituion. A good man is brought to ruin because our government agencies refuse to break rules to help him cope with the consequences of his choices!

“Remember, Mr Sim would not have needed to borrow money had he been able to cope with the rising cost of living.”

Is that true? Did the authors not just tell us that “during unusually bad periods, [Mr Sim] may earn nothing at all”?

If Mr Sim’s job may earn him nothing at all depending on the times, perhaps the rising cost of living is not the only reason why he had needed to borrow money.

Certainly there are people in society who need help. I would even go as far to say that when it comes to giving help to people we may want to focus less on whether he got where he is due to his own decisions, but more on how to get him out of that situation. However, if we want to use the circumstances of one of these people to try to raise questions about government policies, Mr Sim is certainly not an ideal poster-boy.

My guess is that the child might be from his foreign wife’s previous marriage. I dont think that many “poor” singaporeans are that noble to adopt one because he/she might become destitute. Anyway, even if one is poor doesn’t mean he cant get married and have kids. Look at those poor in China and India. The sweeping statements some bloggers here are really narrow minded and uncivic to my liking. Being poor means lesser rights? Who said that? Those who think you are well off and rich have more rights as a human being are those that deserve to be given less rights. God is always fair. So dont treat the poor like a nobody.

FG

I think we know too little about Mr Sim to advice how he can be helped.

For example, does he have relatives?

Why can’t he borrow from legal sources?

Has he sought help from other religious or charitable organisations?

Why isn’t his wife working? Why only him working?

Can he consider getting a 2nd job eg night security guard etc? Has he even tried?

I’m not so sure there isn’t any other alternatives to loansharks…

God is fair? Be REAL! God IS FAIR! That’s why some make billion and some are poor!

God can’t help you:
- If you don’t help yourself in the first place!
- If you continue to let your libido do the talking, make more babies and didn’t think of how to take care of them!

Oh I forgot! God never teach people about birth control!

Poor have less right? In reality, YES! Have you even see a poor guy win a law suit? The lawyer fees is enough to bankrupt him, not to mention a prolong one!

But that doesn’t mean poor have to stay poor, or give one the excuse of borrow from loan shark, steal, rob a bank or anything illegal!

The information presented in this article is too incomplete for the conclusions the authors have drawn. Previous comments for the article have pointed out some of the additional relevant considerations for a social worker assessment.

Also, I have just visited the SE CDC financial assistance webpage and although $1,500 is indeed stated as the household income threshold, it is also stated that the amount of assistance will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The most jarring question I have right now is, what on earth is a “sales contractor”? Is that profession a goods provider or a service provider? Is Mr Sim working part-time? Full-time? On a project basis? Otherwise irregularly?

The second jarring question I have is, Mr Sim has arrears in utilities, with electricity supply threatened to be cut off. How regular has the electricity supply been? Has it been regular enough that his CCTV camera is useful instead of collecting dust when the electricity is off? Related question: Is the meter on the PAYU system? (something like pre-paid card for electricity)

And so on and so forth.

Now I don’t really want to know right here right now, because I’m not working in SE CDC =) therefore I cannot actually take direct action to reopen the case to help Mr Sim. I also wish to maintain Mr Sim’s right to client confidentiality. These are simply my personal thoughts.

On that note, I have a question for the article’s authors: Did you obtain informed consent from Mr Sim (which is most certainly not his real name I hope!) to put his address and situation details online for all the world to examine?

(cognitivedissonance is a 2nd-year social work student in Singapore.)

Sorry forgot to add something. On reading the article again, the third question I have and that I would ask most thoroughly is, to adopt a child, one must show proof of stable finances, is it not? How did Mr Sim do so well at one point that he could adopt his daughter and why then is he not doing so well now? Are the barriers to his not doing so well now, removable?

That just to show that his problems are not just happen overnight! TOC certainly use a wrong example, or as angry doc said, a wrong poster boy, to show the destructiveness of inflation!

Agreed. it is a wrong poster boy. If anything, it’s a poster boy for what happens when you borrow from loansharks, have a HDB flat, a foreign wife and an adapted daughter. Gahmen will say ’see this is what happens when you overspend,’ then warn us about being too complacent, and everything. But it is difficult having a family. Either way, he is still going to have to pay for education, etc. Don’t send kids to school can kena sue today one.

Anyway, borrow from friends also bo yong one. Friends can trump money? Not that many friends sia…if anything, the article shows that Gahmen won’t help you if they think you brought it upon yourself. And the focus of this article is not the ‘won’t help you,’ it’s the BROUGHT IT UPON YOURSELF.

Had a plate of Hor Fun this evening at Beauty World hawker centre on the fourth floor and it was raise to $4 ! Owner said electricity up, food stuff up…..
What occured to me was this. If the prices of food at hawker centers are going up
how many more poorer people are going to give it a miss for lunch or dinnner if they are working. Why is the government so mump on this inflation.

Well, I don’t think any of us can truly appreciate Mr Sim’s predicament. Lets be fair. And to say that he shouldn’t have gone to the loansharks is being somewhat simplistic. Again, if one has nowhere to turn, one will seek out the last resort. To me, the important thing is what he does with the money – whether it’s from the loansharks or from a more ‘legitimate’ source.

And by what is reported in the article, I believe that Mr Sim’s intentions are not evil ones. He is not even asking for money to help him pay off the sharks, for goodness’ sake! He is asking for the police to do their work – this after he has tried, and still continues to, pay the sharks.

The question, at least to me, is why is the police so inept in going after the loansharks. Saying that they’re unable to do much with the CCTV footage is lame. I would expect that our police force would have the capability to deal with such stuff. Isn’t Singapore a technology hub or something? Haven’t we been told so often about how the police force has the latest, ultra-modern technology?

Just because we disagree with what we think he should have as priorities (such as, ‘if he cannot feed himself, why try and have a foreign kid’), the point is that people such as Mr Sim apparently are not evil people. In fact, from what I am reading here from some commenters, Mr Sim should have just left his adopted daughter to die in Vietnam or have a hard life, even if he thought he could help.

I think that says everything about Singapore – and what is wrong with it.

From these comments … i learn that singaporeans are really void of compassion … they are just like the goverment ministers they complained about.

Get out of my elite uncaring face … on a lower level.

On a another note, if the police refuse to deal with these loansharks … they are sending a wrong signal to them and eventually the larger part of the society will suffer one day.

Loan sharks are illegal entities … and the duty of the police is to enforce law and order.

Tragedies happen when someone is driven to the edge and innocents can be endangered.

Actually I could do with $100k myself at this time. If I provide a bank account number, do I expect Singaporeans to put money in?

Duh…. Of course if no one does, I going to call everyone here uncaring and label everyone as people who likes to use “get out of my elite uncaring face” and are absolutely uncompassionate as an example.

It is easy to generalise Singaporeans as bad, uncaring, elite etc…. Singaporeans like to call themselves a lot of things. Pot Kettle Black being a very common refrain.

Sometimes we do need to stand back and understand that a lot of individual choices in life are just that. Individual choices. It can be incredibly unfair at times. That’s life. Complaining is one way people deal with it. Sometimes, other people have different approaches.

RH:
1. Since this is INFLATION Week in TOC, thought I would contribute the following snippets. Just short quotes and their urls :

http://www.europac.net/externalframeset.asp?from=home&id=10612

“…fixated on wholly meaningless govt data that managed to report the lowest inflation… However, the govt’s ability to make ‘economic growth’ magically appear is based purely on statistical finesse.”

“…govt [should] adjust nominal GDP gains using the GDP deflator, which represents the inflation rate. This is done to strip inflation out of the GDP calculation so that only real growth gets counted: not nominal gains that result purely from inflation.”

“Similar illusions are created in other numbers, such as retail sales, corporate earnings, and stock prices, which are all rising merely as a result of actual inflation being higher than the official reports. For example, higher retail sales reflect consumers paying higher prices for the products that they buy. They may in fact be buying less stuff, but are paying more for it.”

“Similarly, just as inflation causes prices to rise for goods and services, it causes stock prices to rise as well. Though such gains may be less than the actual increase in the cost of living, as long as the govt gets away with using bogus CPI numbers which fail to fully reflect inflation, …takes credit for nominal gains as if they were real.”

“However, as ridiculous as the phony GDP number was, yesterday’s biggest joke was a report on global competitiveness put out by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which ranked the [LIE KY LHL PAP] economy as [among] the world’s most competitive. To arrive at this conclusion, the forum has obliterated the obvious under a mountain of theory. In determining country rankings, the WEF weighed strengths in their “12 Pillars of Competitiveness”, including: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation. It is as if the WEF decided to judge a weight loss contest without using a scale, by instead focusing only on mental attitude, dedication, perseverance, and nutritional education! As a result the prize is awarded to the fattest contestant. [Singapore] is clearly not [among] the most competitive economies in the world.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

2. http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/numbers-lie/2007/11/02/
“More Proof That Numbers Lie”

“Numbers don’t lie, do they? Ha! Numbers are the biggest liars on the planet.”

“…govt statisticians – and corporate ones too – typically “crunch” numbers into the shape they want. Numbers get punched, beaten, hammered, bullied, and bamboozled. When the torture session is over they’ll admit to anything. That is how we get a “consumer price index” of only 3%…when everyone knows prices are rising a lot faster.

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3. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/3/focus/19360112&sec=focus

“Increasing prices in just about everything has overshadowed the city state’s prosperity in the last four years.”

“The city-state has been hit by an unceasing bout of price increases that has overshadowed the city’s prosperity in the past four years. Inflation is at its worst here in 12 years [now 26 years] and has become the people’s biggest worry today. For many, the high costs are blurring the Singapore Dream.”

“Worst affected is the broad middle class, …a punishing [from] 5% to 7% rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST).”

“There are two immediate effects. The value of money is dropping by the week, and savings are discouraged since consumer prices are rising faster than interest the banks pay on deposits.”

“The govt appears unable to take action to stop the epidemic, a contrast to the first-generation govt during such crises.”

“But so strong and persistent is inflation that many Singaporeans feel they are the poorer for it.”

“…the govt …priorities are economic growth and asset accumulation (for foreign investments) – even at the expense of a higher cost of living. To that end, it has increased GST from 5% to 7% and may eventually reach 10%. Fees for public services are being raised to ensure no drop in Treasury collection.”

“Deficit budget, although not entirely unknown in Singapore, is a very rare happening.”

“Many young professionals who just start off in life are worried that the sharp run-up in property prices has made it virtually impossible for them to buy a flat. Some are putting off marriage or raising children.”

“Understandably inflation has become a hot debate subject. This is tough for the middle class and working class, which are just struggling for a living amidst the perceived wealth, unhappy and with few choices in life.”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

4. http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_173723.html
“Grocery bills increase as prices for foodstuffs go up.”

“A Straits Times check on a random basket of basic goods sold at supermarkets here revealed price increases in almost every category, from fresh chicken to coffee and milk formula.”

“Rising food prices have contributed to inflation here. September’s [2007] overall Consumer Price Index showed that prices generally retreated by 0.3 per cent from the previous month, but the food component – the biggest item at 23% – rose 3.7% as the cost of fresh vegetables, fruit, seafood and milk powder, as well as hawker and restaurant food, went up.”

“Consumers The Straits Times spoke to said that while increases for each item may seem like a token sum, together, they add up to a much bigger grocery bill.”

“She said that rental on her stall, which is now S$4,500 a month, is set to rise to S$5,500 at the start of next year, and then to S$6,500 in 2009.”

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5. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/inflation-low-because-oil-prices/story.aspx?guid=%7BF29A8D00-50E5-44D6-9981-0E54430C3A96%7D

“In GDP math, sometimes one plus one equals zero.”

“If you don’t understand that, welcome to the confusing world of national income accounting, where up sometimes is down, and where sometimes one plus one can equal zero.”

“Because of the way govt counts and reports the numbers, real-life inflation was understated and growth was [therefore] overstated.”

“The economy didn’t really grow 3.9%, and inflation really wasn’t 0.8%. The numbers aren’t as good as they look.”

“…it did produce quirky numbers that don’t accurately reflect reality, even though they are correct from an accounting point of view. The accounting is right. But it’s not reality.”

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

6. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/specialreport/news/269666_26/1/.html

“Why the GDP link?” “…the higher the gross domestic product (GDP), the bigger the bonus — even some ruling party MPs question the wisdom of such a link.”

“If Monday’s parliamentary debate on pay revisions for ministers and civil servants focused mainly on that “benchmark thing”, yesterday’s session saw the spotlight being trained on the GDP bonus.”

“This bonus is a component which ministers, parliamentary secretaries, top civil servants and MPs are eligible for. Several of the 13 backbenchers who spoke yesterday had reservations about the GDP bonus. One common refrain heard in the House was whether it is a fair performance peg to use.”

“We all know that a rise in GDP may not benefit all sectors of society equally. Some may even lag behind. I would suggest that the Govt consider using indicators that directly impact the livelihood of all Singaporeans,” said Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC).”

“He proposed one other indicator to be considered: That of the total cost of running the Govt as a percentage of total revenue. After all, CEOs in the private sector have to ensure profits are not eroded by increasing [inflation] costs and expenses, Mr Loo said.”

“Other suggestions of alternative benchmarks included: The consumer price index and the inflation rate, as a way to keep cost of living affordable and protect savings; citizens’ feedback to major public services; the number of jobs created for Singaporeans; and even the number of Singaporeans who migrate.”

“Based on the latest revisions, ministers will enjoy a GDP bonus of between 3 and 8 months if the economy grows between 5% and 10% or more. But they will not get any bonus if the economy grows by 2% or less. For example, the entry-level annual salary of a minister this year is expected to include a 5.9-month bonus based on Singapore’s estimated GDP growth of between 4.5% and 6.5%.”

“Another comparison, between the civil service pay increases and the S$30 monthly increase for those on Public Assistance, was raised in the House. Said NMP Kalyani Mehta: “If we are going to be [so] generous to civil servants, then let’s be generous to the very poor.” In response, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister and Minister-in-Charge of the Civil Service, said: “The needs of these individuals are quite different and we need to find more holistic and flexible ways of looking after their needs.”"

“One new issue that cropped up yesterday was the danger of concentrating too much power and money in the hands of top public officers. MP Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) said: “As responsible leaders, we must be careful not to leave behind a system or structure that combines power and monetary rewards to such high levels that incumbents are so handcuffed by this lethal combination that they find it hard to let go.” NMP Eunice Olsen argued that the coupling of political and financial power is more likely to lead to the creation of a rogue govt.”

“On this issue, Mr Teo said that the checks are elections [RH: a lie since elections are routinely rigged] and the ruling party’s selection process. “If (a person’s) motivations are self-serving or to make money, we do not select him. And if we discover that’s what he’s about after he has come in, we drop him,” he said.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////

7. http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_172073.html

“But economists say one crucial aspect to watch out for is rising inflation. It hit 2.9% in August – the biggest monthly rise since 1994. MAS expects inflation of 1.5% to 2% this year, and up to 3.5% for the first half of 2008. But it expects this to ease in the second half of the year, with inflation at 2% to 3% for the whole of 2008.”

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RH: Many, many, THANKS to Mr Kaye Poh, from whose brilliant email all the above articles are sourced and excerpted here. The thrust of all these articles prove convincingly enough, that GDP Numbers are faked Higher when Inflation is faked Lower than it really is. They prove why LIE KY LHL PAP kept reporting abnormally Low inflation numbers for decades, when the experience of every Singaporean is of rampant inflation. Also, by reporting falsely Low inflation numbers, LIE KY LHL PAP disguise the simple fact that our CPF monies are actually Reducing in value, eroded by Inflation because the miserable, exploitative, cheating, scam ‘interest’ they give us are far, far, below inflation — “an implicit tax” as Prof Mukul Asher [ http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/Faculty_Mukul_Asher.aspx ] wrote. . Also, by reporting — and convincing us through their PAPaganda media — that inflation is ‘low’, the alleged GDP each year becomes automatically and fakedly Higher thereby giving the Ministers and top civil servants more millions in GDP ‘Performance Bonuses’!!! Disgusting, dirty, cheats and scammers who routinely rig elections so as to be able to keep paying themselves more millions.

AL: What’s the point of this article? This guy brought all those trouble himself in the first place!

Whether we like it or not another human’s sufferings will directly or indirectly impact the rest of us. Statement like yours, while not invalid, lacks empathy, something i notice prevalent among many MPs of the ruling party. In the name of ‘meritocracy’ the Singapore system has abandoned the concept of noblesse oblige (google it up if you don’t know what it is). We cannot stop anyone who is bent on self-destruction. But is this the case with Mr Sim? A big reason why loan sharks exist is to service a neglected or forgotten segment of the population. Depending on your philosophy in life, you just might say that people like Mr Sim “deserves it”. But these social problems would not go away and will bite us back one day. Even the PAP has grudgingly realised this, especially if its policies have made the poor poorer and contributed to the widening social and income gap.

Well, Mr Sim is a kind man to adopt his daughter to prevent her from getting suffer. But due to his salary that is not enough to support his family, I think he should seek advice from someone knowledgeable of knowing how to help him solve his financial problems. Or he can search online about others information how he can get help. Surely there is a way out to solve this problem as Mr Sim has a job despite there are others who might be less fortunate than him earning lesser income or no income at all. Mr Sim should not resort to lending from loan sharks as one have to bear the consequence of what he had done and thus sympathy will not be given. We can see that those who earn lesser income or no income has the determination to hold on and not resorting to lending from loan sharks. Being in this state in Mr Sim example is not a reason to state that inflation has drove this man to loansharks. As there are many ways to solve his problem in the first place, its just he did not know how to.

WOW! So Noble? Why don’t you come out some cash to help him then?

Mr. Sim problems is not just happen OVERNIGHT! He do have a choice!

There are many poor families in Singapore and most don’t borrow from loan shark! Loan shark exist, of course is with the support of people like Mr. Sim! They don’t open stall like a bank and advertise! One have to look them up for loan. And where is such places? You tell me!

This is not the 50’s or 60’s like the Cantonese soap opera movie! Loan shark exist most of the time is to service those gambling addicts, and this people come from all levels, so don’t give the poor a bad name!

Yes, this problem will not go away, and it will happen again, and again if people decide to borrow from loan shark! That’s why some people suggest that borrower should be punish too! Isn’t it convenient that people can just borrow from loan shark and report them to the police? They knew the consequence yet they still decide to go ahead. Too bad!

People do have a choice, and I am not talking about illiterate and Mr’ Sim certainly not one! People should learn to stand on their own feet. Continue to create problems one after another and of blame the WHOLE WORLD? Calling people NO COMPASSION? That is REALLY CONVENIENT! My Compassion go to more deserving people, instead of ENDLESS PIT!

PAP do realized the problem of inflation but they really don’t care! That’s why they reward themselves with million dollar salaries! Of course, they wouldn’t bother with Mr’ SIm problem!

“A big reason why loan sharks exist is to service a neglected or forgotten segment of the population.” – Noblesse

I disagree.

A big reason why loan sharks exist is because a segment of the population are easy prey.

I would even suggest that if loan sharks didn’t exist, some people may be forced to think of better alternatives to improve their lives instead of getting “easy” money from these people.

“He is not even asking for money to help him pay off the sharks, for goodness’ sake! He is asking for the police to do their work – this after he has tried, and still continues to, pay the sharks.”

Wrong, Andrew. Mr Sim asked CDC for money.

The article tried to argue that:

1. Mr Sim is in his predicament because he is a good man.
2. Mr Sim is in his predicament because he had no choice but to borrow from loan sharks.
3. Mr Sim is in his predicament because of government policies.
4. Mr Sim continues to be in his predicament becuase the police are incompetent.
5. Mr Sim continues to be in his predicament because quasi-governmental agencies refuse to help him.

In short, the article tries to pin all of the fault onto the government while trying to play down the fact that Mr Sim’s choices had a part in how he got where he is.

If compassion is what the authors hoped to invoke, then a simple telling of Mr Sim’s plight would have sufficed.

The truth is: compassion is just something the authors are trying to appeal to in the readers to get us to buy their argument.

Am back. It has been a long day at work.

Let’s consider the loanshark issue specifically. Never mind about Mr Sim or his daughter or his CCTV. Just think of some person who has borrowed money from loansharks.

Now I don’t know what the MCYS policy is on loanshark debts being brought into consideration during a financial assistance assessment, if a loanshark borrower were to apply for financial assistance when he still has a loanshark debt to pay off. But logically speaking, if we try to support -everyone- who has loanshark debts to pay off their debts, we will be funnelling infinite amounts of public money to the loanshark business. No good hor? Loanshark know of this then they anyhow raise their interest rates sky-high hor? Since their borrowers will always manage to pay off using public assistance funds what.

So then at best we have to choose who to subsidize.

Must choose lah, can’t help everybody because money doesn’t fall from the sky.

And that’s where my questions from my previous comments still apply. Perhaps SE CDC had surveyed Mr Sim’s situation with due care and found out something about the whole matter that makes them think Mr Sim could still manage quite well on his income. We don’t know. And, more to the point, SE CDC can’t tell you either because telling you -exactly- how they come to their financial assistance evaluation decisions will cause more people to come to game the system. They can’t even tell Mr Sim, although you might think he would have the right to know. No, he doesn’t. The gaming system thing applies to him too.

At worst, for the generic loanshark borrower, the straight policy might be: Since no one can tell which borrower had the intention to borrow and ’siam’ the repayment simply by calling police to catch the loanshark, and which borrower fully intended to repay but really cannot make it, subsidize no loanshark debts at all. In that situation, financial assistance will only be provided as per normal, and we will assume that no loanshark bill exists.

We cannot give out public money totally based on something as vague as an idea of a person’s intentions. There are the first layer of rules known as the existing policy, and there is the second layer of rules where the social workers decide based on their social work training that the first layer of rules is an inadequate measure of the particular case. The second layer of rules is exceptionally rigorous because it is both the social worker’s own head and the agency’s reputation on the professional chopping board. The day Singapore decides to disburse public money based solely on whether a person applying for assistance has good intentions or is a good man, I will migrate and practise elsewhere.

If Mr Sim is reading this, I hope that he will go to his nearest family service centre (FSC) for advice and help. They will be in a good position to help. Based on his address given in the article, his nearest FSC is MacPherson Moral Family Service Centre, at Blk 91 Paya Lebar Way #01-3023, tel: 67414255,

opening hours: 9.00am – 6.30pm (Mon, Wed & Fri)
9.00am – 9.00pm (Tue and Thu)
9.00am – 6.00pm (Sat)

Be well.

lack of compassion? are you disappointed? let’s say that his contact number was available. would YOU help him? even if you could not shell out the money, would you go out and help him to take care of his daughter, help him find a job, etc? granted that he didn’t really have a choice, but the article has put him in such a light that people think that he got himself into this mess. You can’t generalise his story into a case of inflation and how it is ruining him, because while almost everyone has to live under inflation and a Gahmen which seems to care less by the day, there is an extra aspect to his story – he went to the loan sharks.

the article reflects everything that is wrong with Singapore. in saying that, andrew, you are right. the government is partly to blame for us becoming what we are today. noblesse oblige is dead in Singapore. i wouldn’t hold my breath for it.

[...] Inflation & Cost of Living – TOC: Coping with inflation – some free stuff – P65: Is Subsidy a Panacea for the Rising Inflation? – My Sketchbook: Let’s talk about subsidy again… – TOC: Inflation drove this man to loansharks [...]

when i see it’s my block Blk 112 Aljunied Crescent, i can guess which house it is. as Mr Sim’s neighbour n being a grassroots member, i find this article biaised n felt disgusted after reading it.

neighbours know dat tis Mr Sim had borrowed from more than 10 over loansharks. yes, his house was harassed 2 yrs ago. but it had stopped for more than a yr, after the police came in.

recently his house was harassed again, n it was heard dat he is still borrowing from loansharks again. he had gone to neighbours asking how to extract video of the loanshark from his CCTV harddisk. when he was suggested to seek help from police, he replied dat CID had to seize his CCTV harddisk away for examination, but he felt insecure to part with it. these days, my family members had also seen policemen waiting at the staircase to ambush the loansharks, n i really pity these policemen.

i only hope dat tis Mr Sim will be the first one to be charged in court, once after the law is amended to charge borrowers of loansharks.

Oooh, take it easy, icaesar22, there may be things we do not know about Mr Sim’s situation. Difficult to assess truth from just the one facet of what each of us sees in daily life.

What can we expect coming from a pap grassroots leader, cognitivedissonance, their understanding and sympathy for people? I find icaesar22 comments not surprising at all for the pap is proud, arrogant and elitist! They will never sympathize with people as evident also in V Bala’s response to Dr Lily Neo’s request to up public assistance to reflect inflation and changing times. It’s no wonder why icaesar22 is in grassroots in the first place if not for personal gain and benefits?

Digging his own grave – not pity from anyone, lest tax-payers monies! Best to banish him from Singapore altogether. Irresponsible guy. Hope he get big-big from his creditors.