SINGAPORE: When his contract with ride-hailing giant Grab ends in a month’s time, Mr Gregory Lim intends to give up his Mazda 3 for a Prius Hybrid taxi from SMRT – reversing a move he made last year. 

Experiences of waiting for an assigned booking and getting cancellations after spending time travelling to a location have made the former taxi driver miss the days of being able to pick up passengers off the streets. 

The 41-year-old also lamented that he no longer has the drive to clock long hours on the road amid shrinking cash incentives. 

“After Uber is gone, so are the incentives,” Mr Lim said, referring to Grab’s landmark deal to acquire the Southeast Asia operations of its American rival. “Becoming a private-hire car driver was all about the incentives.” 

Also mulling a return to the taxi industry is former ComfortDelGro cabby Sabastian, who cited taxes as his main consideration. 

The driver, who preferred to be known by his first name, said monthly expenses, such as vehicle rental and petrol, can amount to S$2,500 or more. But unlike cabbies, these are non-tax-deductible for private-hire car drivers. 

“Don’t forget that Grab takes a 20 per cent commission so after these deductions, I’m not left with much to take home,” said the sole breadwinner. “Tax is a problem not just for me, but many drivers too. That’s why we are thinking of going back to taxis.” 

In recent years, traditional cab operators in Singapore have taken a hit with ride-hailing services hot on its wheels. Apart from passengers, it also witnessed an exodus of driver-hirers which at one point in time, left fleets of taxis lying idle in yards. 

But with the change in hearts among some drivers, at least one taxi company is benefiting. 

Industry leader ComfortDelGro announced earlier this month that it has placed an order for 200 new cabs – its first in close to one-and-a-half years. 

This was meant for the “uptick” in demand for its taxis over the last month or so, said company spokesperson Tammy Tan. The taxi giant signed on close to 300 new hirers in April – nearly double the same period last year. 

Channel NewsAsia reached out to the other taxi operators with queries on whether they are noticing the same trend, but they did not respond or declined to comment. 

On why some private-hire car drivers are changing tracks, transport analysts cited the rollback in monetary rewards as a key factor. 

Previously, incentives as much as S$2,500 a month were achievable, according to drivers that Channel NewsAsia spoke to. These days, that has been halved. 

“If I’m a driver, I will naturally sign up with the company that can give me the highest income,” said Dr Lee Der Horng from the National University of Singapore (NUS). “But just like promo codes, these upfront incentives were unsustainable. Now things have changed, drivers are feeling concerned.” 

Echoing that, Dr Park Byung Joon from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) said perks, which included hefty bonus rewards and vehicle rental for as low as S$60 a day, have been “distractions” for many taxi drivers.

“But when the time comes for no more incentives, they will start thinking which is more economically viable,” he said, while adding that taxi operators provide benefits such as maintenance support. 

With “things back to how they are supposed to be”, Dr Park reckoned that there will soon be “a balance” between those behind the wheels of taxis and private-hire cars. 

When contacted, a Grab spokesperson said: “Be it private-hire cars or taxis, drivers can choose their preferred services based on their lifestyle needs and preferences.” 

As a technology company, its role is to provide a platform for drivers, merchants and other partners, while using “technology to enhance the overall efficiency of the transport system”. It is also “focused on bringing down the everyday costs” for drivers and has provided greater welfare support, such as discounts on fuel and mobile plans, added the spokesperson.

IS THE WORST OVER FOR TAXIS?

With the recent developments, industry experts said the taxi industry could see smoother roads ahead.

Dr Park, for one, said cab operators can “finally breathe a bit easier”, thanks to the Grab-Uber deal.

“Uber and Grab burning cash to buy market share had been a painful time for the local taxi companies. But the deal means that Grab will no longer need to do that – promo codes and big incentives, those days are over,” he said.

“This will be a huge relief for not just ComfortDelGro, but all taxi operators.”

Phillip Capital Research investment analyst Richard Leow went as far to say that the battered industry’s worst days may have passed.

He noted that the consolidation of the two ride-hailing giants has led to “pricing rationalisation, in turn resulting in some flow of drivers back to taxis”. More importantly, ComfortDelGro’s move to grow its fleet again is the “big U-turn” that may signal “the worst could be over”.

True enough, the biggest taxi operator in Singapore struck an upbeat note in its earnings report last week despite a near 20 per cent fall in first-quarter net profit.

“Revenue from the taxi business is expected to stabilise with the rationalisation of the competition landscape in Singapore,” said ComfortDelGro Group CEO Yang Ban Seng, while adding that there will be a more level playing field ahead. 

Even with a host of new upstarts jostling to fill in Uber’s void, analysts said it may take some time before competition can be revved up again. 

This is because new players, such as Ryde and Jugnoo, have only launched their services this month and remain in the early stages of building up a sizable fleet, said Dr Lee. 

Earlier reports have suggested that homegrown firm Ryde started off with about 5,000 drivers, while Jugnoo signed up 100 and is hoping to hit a target of 2,000 by the end of the month. 

The relatively smaller capital backing that these new disruptors have also seems to suggest that they may opt out of the “expensive strategy” of doling out incentives to attract drivers, said Dr Park.

“But if they don’t intend to do the same as what Grab and Uber did, then I don’t think it’s going to be easy for them to build up their network quickly,” he added. 

Still, this does not mean that the taxi fleet in Singapore could halt the brakes on recent declines. Statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed the overall number of cabs plying the streets fell to 21,746 in March – its lowest in more than a decade. 

While there could be a recovery in a few months, Dr Park thinks it will be unlikely for the taxi population figure to return to its heydays in 2014, when there were more than 28,000 taxis on the roads. 

Cab operators also need to stay vigilant and continue to improve their business models by doubling down on innovation or take the opportunity to optimise their fleet, said Dr Lee. 

In the case of ComfortDelGro, it will likely need to have a presence in the private-hire car space if it wants to have an even smoother recovery, according to RHB Research analyst Shekhar Jaiswal. 

When contacted, the taxi operator declined to comment on updates for its joint venture with Uber on the acquisition of a stake in Lion City Holdings.

Meanwhile, recent reports also suggested that ComfortDelGro has perhaps turned its attention to Indonesian ride-hailing service Go-Jek. 

“We await the final outcome of ComfortDelGro’s deal with Uber … and the Group’s definitive strategy to expand into private hire car business,” Mr Jaiswal said in a note. “We believe (it) needs to finalise a definitive strategy for private hire car business soon.”

SINGAPORE: In the past week, several MPs and Ministers have risen to address the issue of inequality in Singapore.

It is clearly something that Singaporeans feel passionately about, judging by comments on social media platforms.

This is partly because even for those of us who belong to the broad middle-class, the high cost of living coupled with our expectations of what a good life is, is a strain.

Amid these concerns, one group that remains relatively quiet is workers at and below the 20th percentile.

Labour Member of Parliament Zainal Sapari who has been raising the plight of these workers for many years now, has referred to them as the “voiceless”.

READ: Zainal Sapari’s commentary on ‘slavery of the poor’.

Many are not in a position to bargain or complain because they might lack skills and have very few employment options.

One could then say that it’s really up to them to acquire skills and increase their options.

Certainly, that should be one of the goals.

However, considering that blue-collar manpower is still a need and many of these workers perform valuable jobs such as cleaning our estates and offices, or work as security guards in the places we play and work at, there is a need to ensure that Singaporeans who choose these options are not shortchanged.

Mr Zainal is a proponent of the Progressive Wage Model, a productivity-based wage progression pathway that helps to increase wages of workers through upgrading their skills and improving their productivity. It’s mandatory for workers providing mostly outsourced services in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors.

As a result of this scheme, the wages and skills of thousands of low-income workers have improved over the years.

The skills improvements no doubt are also aimed at engendering pride in their professions and to give workers a sense of career progression.

In terms of salaries, since 2012, the wages of workers at the 20th percentile have seen the largest increase.

However, Mr Zainal feels more needs to be done as, even today, outsourced workers could see their salaries stagnate during their contractual service which can last more than two years.

Even if they do get a raise, this could be reset once the contract ends and a new one begins, and this often has to do with businesses having to lower the prices of their services in order to win contracts.

While acknowledging the improvements, Mr Zainal who, in the past, has even called out government agencies on cheap sourcing practices, said “we cannot expect to get better results if we keep on doing the same things”.

IS THERE ROOM FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Importantly, Mr Zainal said that companies should live up to a sense of social responsibility by being fair and treating their employees, especially rank-and-file workers, better.

Businesses often say it is a challenge to operate in a high-cost environment like Singapore.

Even labour costs seem relatively high considering the relatively low prices of certain goods and services.

We would do well to consider if all these difficulties are leading to capitalist exploitation that seems to have become acceptable and even expected.

If so, should we really accept this state of affairs as an inevitability?

Are we uncomfortable enough with the inherent injustice to rethink the ways we consume goods and services and conduct business?

Amid the concerns over dollars and cents, is there any room for a sense of social responsibility?

DOES IT START WITH THE CONSUMER?

With the Progressive Wage Model, some businesses are reporting desirable effects – higher productivity leads to improved profits for businesses and better wages for workers. Service buyers also experience better standards and quality.

It looks like a virtuous cycle but what does it take to make it work?

Dr Goh Wei Leong co-founder of HealthServe, a healthcare charity for migrant workers, in a recent edition of On the Record pointed out that it often starts with the consumer.

You can’t blame the poor employers. They are really responding to a much deep-seated cultural framework we have here.

“Many of us notice the poor treatment of the people doing menial work, cleaners or construction workers, be it Singaporeans or non-Singaporeans, when we say: ‘Let’s give them more pay. Let’s look into equity.’ While we are shouting out loud, advocating for them, are we ourselves willing to fork out a little more for cleaning services? Pay more for our buildings? Pay more for our conservancy, our monthly cleaning. We need to make that sacrifice. I think if all of us sacrifice a bit, it would make such a difference to the poor,” he said.

He explained that for some small businesses, even paying for the medical treatment of one migrant worker could bankrupt them as they are not able to afford adequate insurance.

Statements that call for consumers to pay more often provoke the ire of Singaporeans who feel they are already stretched thin by the high cost of living in Singapore.

Any mitigation to the cost of living would certainly be welcomed, but considering the circumstances we live in today, taking a step back and considering how fulfilling our needs and wants could impact others in society is warranted.  

Some point out that more expensive goods and services may also end up hurting the very group of workers they are meant to help.

This is why there needs to be careful calibration and tiers of services and goods.

Redistribution efforts might still remain necessary but hopefully to a lesser degree.

UNETHICAL BUSINESSES

There is another dimension to this in that businesses could be charging more for products and services without passing on the profits to their workers.

Dr Goh maintains that consumers can play a role in influencing businesses in this case as well.

“If consumers are able to demand ethical recruitment, ethical products, businesses would be forced to be ethical. If I demand that the businessman pay fair wages, then I must be willing to not patronise his establishment if he’s found not to have ethical practices. The consumers themselves have a lot of influence and I think we have to exercise that influence for good,” he said.

As a start though, some have suggested financial incentives for businesses that are able to show ethical treatment of workers.

Dr Goh suggested tax breaks.

Mr Zainal mentioned introducing new policies that focus on encouraging and incentivising companies to have a good work culture.

Studies have shown that a positive work culture can have tremendous benefits for businesses. Engendering such a work culture, no doubt, involves fair treatment and pay.

It is in all our interests to see businesses and the economy thrive. After all, if they didn’t, the natural consequence would be high levels of unemployment.

But is there a balance that can be struck to ensure that while businesses thrive, those working for them do too?

Some feel that our focus on efficiency often derails such efforts, which may only see results in the medium to long-term.

Dr Goh said it best in our interview:  

Efficiency is getting from point A to point B, cheapest, fastest. But we should focus on being efficacious instead. This means that we take a longer route to get there but we are more human. 

For example, we have better work conditions, workers are treated well, employers are happy. At the end, you may have some tradeoffs – spending more money, taking more time, building relationships, having to learn how to live in shared spaces, learning how to share. But I think it’s more efficacious.

BEYOND DOLLARS AND CENTS

Many would say it is natural in a capitalist society for money to be the measure of everything.

But instead of using this as justification to pay certain workers low wages, perhaps we need to step back to fairly measure the true value of the work that they do, taking into account productivity efforts and professionalism.

How does their work contribute to our well-being as individuals and as a nation?

How much is it worth in dollars and cents?

Indeed, they should not be seen as charities we have to contribute to, but if we thought about this more deeply, I imagine many of us would admit it is certainly more than what many of these workers get paid today.

Let us not forget that capitalist societies also obviously constitute human beings, so we should think about how humanity fits into this equation.

Can we, while fighting for progression, dignity and fairness for ourselves, do the same for others in our midst?

Can we find it in ourselves to make the necessary adjustments to our demands and expectations in order to ensure progression, dignity and fairness for them, both in terms of the meaningfulness of their capabilities and the services they provide, and how they are compensated for these efforts?

As government, consumers and businesses, let us demand a more conscious brand of capitalism from both ourselves and others.  

Bharati Jagdish is the host of Channel NewsAsia Digital News’ hard-hitting On The Record, a weekly interview with thought leaders across Singapore, and The Pulse, Channel NewsAsia’s weekly podcast that discusses the hottest issues of the week.

SINGAPORE: As a commercial diver, his job that day was to conduct underwater inspection works. But the sea was clearly choppy, and the 35-year-old felt it was unsafe to dive in.

But when he alerted his supervisor, he recalled being told: “Just jump only bro, don’t care. Because the vessel wants to sail, the boss says must finish it now.”

The same has happened at times when the underwater current was too strong. “They’ll tell you to go and try,” said the diver, adding that he encounters such practices in 60 per cent of jobs while freelancing for various companies.

Such practices are “more or less” par for the course in “quite a few” companies, said another diver, 46. “Even if it’s not safe, they will try to make you do the job,” he added.

The two men, who have a combined experience of more than 20 years working freelance and full-time jobs, told Channel NewsAsia that some companies risk divers’ safety to cut costs and complete jobs on time. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear for their careers.

Their claims come after the death of fellow diver Jake Seet, 33, who went missing while conducting underwater operations at the Western Anchorage near Sentosa. His body was found on May 5 in the sea off Sentosa. The circumstances of his death are being investigated.

There are other challenges, the divers said. Equipment like diving helmets and tank compressors can go years without being serviced, they claimed.

For diving helmets, which supply oxygen to the diver, this poor maintenance can lead to faulty valves, the 46-year-old diver said. “When you go deep, water will start to seep into the hat,” he said. “Sometimes when you report it to the company, they will tell you (they will fix it), but after four months, the same thing happens.”

In addition, the divers alleged, these unsafe practices are compounded by a culture that punishes dissent. The 35-year-old diver said voicing out against non-compliance means getting blacklisted by the company. “If you’re not happy, you can go work for another company,” he would be told.

On one occasion, he asked divers on the same job to follow the dive table, which shows how long someone can spend underwater in one dive. When one supervisor found out, he was pulled out from the team.

“They tekan (punished) me by giving me extra tanks to carry down,” he said. “What most of these companies do is, once they know you dare to speak out, they bully you to a point where you think twice.

“So it’s whether you want your rice bowl or continue arguing. They give you all the rough jobs; the easy jobs they give the guys who keep quiet. If you’re five minutes late, they tekan you. They make your life very difficult because you go against them.”

The 46-year-old diver said he’s argued with supervisors on a number of occasions. “They didn’t call me for a while,” he said. “But after they couldn’t get divers, they started calling me back, but I didn’t entertain them.”

NOT SURPRISED

Responding to these claims, Commercial Diving Association Singapore (CDAS) chairman Abdul Malik said he’s heard of similar reports from “a lot” of divers.

“I won’t be surprised that this kind of activities occur in the commercial diving industry,” he told Channel NewsAsia. “Because it happens everywhere.” He added that in any industry, “there will be some companies who try to squeeze the employees as much as possible”.

Channel NewsAsia has contacted the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for comment regarding the claims.

For company divers with such grievances, Mr Malik urged them to approach MOM, the Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees’ Union or CDAS itself. “On their behalf, we can move forward and find some solutions to this,” he said.

For freelance divers, Mr Malik said they should stop taking up jobs from such companies. “Among themselves, I’m sure they know which companies are better to work for,” he added. 

He continued: “If there’s a genuine safety concern, they should raise it up, and if it’s not being addressed, they should not feel a threat.

“If they get marked and they don’t get called for other jobs, for me there’s nothing to lose. They shouldn’t be working those jobs.”

And if they feel their options are limited, Mr Malik said they should attend skills upgrading courses that allow them to work for different types of jobs in the commercial diving industry.

WHY IS IT STILL SO UNSAFE?

Commercial divers work in jobs that include inspecting and maintaining ships, assembling and demolishing jetties, and docking and repairing ships in a shipyard.

It is a physically demanding industry that pits divers against poor visibility, strong currents and falling objects, Mr Malik said. This makes threats ranging from drowning to decompression sickness very real.

According to media reports, there have been at least five commercial diving-related deaths since 2010. 

Mr Malik said some companies still adopt unsafe practices because they are “squeezed” by clients whose vessels are docked for only a few hours. “If they want the job, they have to cut corners because they cannot meet the time,” he explained.

Another reason, Mr Malik said, is the cost of safety. While diving helmets already cost S$10,000 a piece, sending it in for minimal servicing can cost S$200. Training an in-house technician is not cheap either. “Some companies are a bit tight on budget, so these things can happen,” Mr Malik added, referring to reports of poorly-maintained equipment.

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

To tackle the problem, Mr Malik said MOM has been carrying out enforcement operations, but added that this is still a work in progress. “They can’t be everywhere all at once,” he said.

On CDAS’ part, Mr Malik said it will advise member companies that are found to be unsafe on how to improve their operations.

“If we kick them out of the association, what happens is they will just go on with their own way and continue to put divers at risk,” he said. “So, we feel it’s better to engage them and promote safety within their company.”

Nevertheless, Mr Malik said CDAS will have “no qualms” about reporting recalcitrant companies to MOM. The industry is regulated under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, meaning companies convicted of lapses face a maximum fine of S$500,000, while individuals may be fined up to S$200,000 and/or jailed for up to 24 months.

Industry safety standards are also outlined in the Code of Practice for Diving at Work (SS 511) and the Technical Advisory for Inland/Inshore Commercial Diving Safety and Health. While these are not legal guidelines, they can be used as reference during prosecution under the WSH Act.

The SS 511 is also being revised and is expected to be published by the end of the year, a spokesperson from national standards body Enterprise Singapore told Channel NewsAsia.

Drafted changes include specifying that commercial divers need to be certified by an authorised training school in addition to in-house training provided by companies, Mr Malik said.

BLACK SHEEP

Still, Mr Malik said he observes that more than half of commercial diving companies comply with safety standards.

“A lot of members feel they put in a lot of effort to ensure the divers are diving safe,” he said. “They have the best equipment and do thorough risk assessments. They’re spending thousands of dollars sending the divers for training.

“There are companies who treat their divers fairly and provide the best safety precautions, some maybe not.”

The owner of a prominent commercial diving company, who has more than 20 years of diving experience, said the divers making the claims should understand the standards stipulated in the SS 511 and technical advisory.

For example, the technical advisory states that diving using commercial scuba gear is still allowed in currents of up to one knot, although it should not be routine.

The advisory doesn’t prohibit diving in choppy water either, explaining that “it is a matter of judgment by the diving supervisor onsite, to decide when diving should stop due to an adverse sea state”.

“If the company forces him to do anything outside of the standards it adopts, then of course he has a right to complain,” said the owner, who did not want to be named. “If there are companies that have less stringency or do not follow a standard, then I would say that it’s only a matter of time before the law catches up with them.”

As for the culture of punishing those who stand up for safety, the owner said responsible employers would send safety officers to the ground to ensure protocol is followed.

“I don’t have a right as a supervisor or employer to force the diver to dive if he feels it’s unsafe,” he said. “We have a stop work policy, and at any one time when he feels it is unsafe, he has right to say he does not want to dive.”

Similarly strict policies are applied to the maintenance of equipment, the owner said, adding that he hires dive technicians to keep track of servicing schedules while regularly updating them in a database.

So does he feel there are companies that still scrimp on safety?

“In any case, there would be,” he said. “But lately, MOM has been policing this and they are doing their work. So whether or not there are still companies behaving in this manner, I’m not sure. In the past, yes. Now, it is much better.”

The 46-year-old diver said while the industry is much safer now compared to a decade ago, there is still a long way to go.

“Most experienced divers dare to tell the supervisor off, but we are trying to protect the younger ones,” he said. “Because they are the ones who are putting their lives in danger.”

SINGAPORE: She was hardly at home when her daughter was young. Cindy Tan was busy working instead, trying to raise two children as a single mother after her divorce. 

Her daughter’s distrust, and hatred even, was the heavy price she paid.

It was years later, when she was in her 50s, that Mdm Tan got an unexpected second chance to learn to be a mother again – the mother she’d never really been – to Valerie, who was nearly 30. 

“It was like taking care of a newborn again,” she said. She had to be alert to her daughter’s safety nearly every minute. She had to help her form sentences in response to questions.

Except that the daughter she was now taking care of, had schizophrenia.

To help heal her child’s broken mind, Mdm Tan had to figure out how to mend their broken relationship. It was a daunting task that required rebuilding a fragile trust with an already-resentful daughter, whose illness made her prone to paranoia, suspicion, and withdrawal.

It left Mdm Tan at her wit’s end, at one stage. “I did plan to kill ourselves,” she confesses, painfully. “I didn’t know what to do any more. I didn’t know how to help her.”

WATCH: A mother-daughter love story (6:56)

But, just as her daughter’s own journey to recovery is today a beacon of hope for those suffering from mental illness; so Mdm Tan’s parallel road is proof that it is never too late to be the mother your child needs you to be.

CHILDHOOD: ‘SHE WASN’T THERE FOR ME’

Valerie Liu grew up feeling as if she was deprived of both a father and a mother. After her parents divorced early, her dad was no longer part of the family’s lives.

Her mother, on the other hand, was a businesswoman who promised herself that she would give her daughter and younger son a “life of luxury”.

“I just wanted their father to know that I could afford the two of them together,” said the 61-year-old.

But chasing that goal meant that her children were brought up by their grandmother and relatives. From the time Ms Liu was nine, her mother worked abroad as a director in a company, returning only once or twice a year.

And so began a rocky mother-daughter relationship. Said Ms Liu: “She wasn’t there for me, so I felt that I wasn’t cared for nor loved.”

It reached a point where they could not even have a “normal conversation” when her mother was on one of her rare visits home.

Whenever we talked, we’d fight and scold each other. Sometimes I’d just slam my door. And if I didn’t like certain topics she talked about, I’d just leave the house.

Mdm Tan remembers one incident in particular. Her daughter was about 14 or 15 and snapped at her, saying: “When I needed you, where were you? When I don’t need you, when I’ve grown up already, why are you here?”

By then, the resentful teenager no longer trusted her. She had previously taken her mother into her confidence after experiencing a childhood trauma. Without disclosing what happened, she said simply: “How could I trust her when she didn’t believe me?”

Turning to the company of friends instead, she became a “wayward person” – in her own words – who went clubbing, drank and smoke.

FIRST SYMPTOMS: ‘I THOUGHT I WAS A DEITY’

Ms Liu thinks her “bottled-up, negative feelings” eventually caused the onset of her mental illness in 2006 when she was doing a pre-university bridging course in Perth. Her symptoms included hallucinations and delusions.

“I thought people were following me, and on the road, I kept hearing voices in my head,” she shared.

I also could hear the news talking about me. I thought I could talk to the radio. I thought I had superpowers … I thought I was a deity.

The fact is, there is no single cause for schizophrenia, said Dr Charmaine Tang, the deputy clinical chief and consultant at the Institute of Mental Health’s Department of Psychosis.

“Like many other illnesses, the causes are multifactorial and include both environmental and genetic factors,” she explained. 

For example, illicit drug use is “a well-known environmental factor associated with the development of schizophrenia” while having a relative with the illness also increases one’s risk.

“Traumatic and stressful experiences do not cause schizophrenia, but can trigger a schizophrenic episode in a vulnerable individual who is predisposed.” 

During the period that Ms Liu was experiencing these episodes, the scared girl would call her mother. But Mdm Tan thought it was just stress, as her daughter would be crying about her studies.

She only realised that “something was really not right” when her son, who was also studying in Perth, called to say that his sister was in a very bad state and should return to Singapore.

Ms Liu came back to an empty four-room flat, as her mother was working in China. And over two years, her paranoia worsened. She recalls how the voices in her head told her that “the neighbours and my mother were conspiring against me”.

One day, she lost control. Feeling that her neighbours upstairs were disturbing her, she took a knife and knocked on their doors. The police were called in, and she was brought to IMH.

She cannot remember the incident, though her mother does. When Mdm Tan received the phone call about the case, she was “shivering”, and she flew home immediately.

AWKWARD START: ‘I DIDN’T TRUST HER’

Ms Liu wasn’t straightaway diagnosed with schizophrenia, but rather with psychosis. After staying at IMH for two to three months, she was released into her mother’s care.

The slow process of recovery, and of tentatively restoring their relationship, began. 

Medication was helping her daughter, but Ms Liu doubted her mother’s desire to help. “I didn’t trust her totally. So I’d see her actions. I’d monitor her … How does she talk? Is she patient? A lot of things. Is her tone sincere?” she recalled.

Both mother and daughter agreed that it was “very awkward” initially. Mdm Tan said she tried building up their relationship as if she was “trying to tackle” a potential boyfriend.

“When you want to tackle somebody, you always try to please,” she said. “You always give in … This was how I did it.”

Her daughter can now laugh at the thought. At the time, however, it did not help that her mother returned to China soon after – in Ms Liu’s mind, breaking her word. 

She said that she’d stay and work in Singapore. It didn’t happen at all.

​​​​​​​

Still, four years went by and she did not suffer a relapse, until she went on a holiday to China to visit her mother. With everything seemingly fine, she’d stopped taking her medication. Consequently, the symptoms returned – worse than before.

Back in Singapore, she heard voices again and became paranoid about people peeking into her bedroom. This time, when she was treated at IMH, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Sharing more about the condition, Dr Tang said: “Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that usually has its onset in young individuals between the ages of 15 and 25.

“Worldwide, about one in 100 adults have schizophrenia, and it affects men and women equally … Contrary to common misconceptions, schizophrenia isn’t a disorder of ‘split personality’, but rather a disorder of fragmented mental processes.”

REKINDLING THE RELATIONSHIP

It was after her daughter’s relapse that Mdm Tan realised things could not go on the way they had. 

“Every day, she’d tell me, ‘Mummy, help me, Please help me find my soul. I don’t know who I am. Get me my soul back.’ It was so scary,” she recalled with a hitch in her voice even now.

To Ms Liu, the first sign that her mother wanted to change was when the latter begged for forgiveness. “If not, her tears wouldn’t have flowed,” she said. 

She’s a very strong woman … and I hadn’t really seen her cry before.

This time, Mdm Tan took unpaid leave from work. And while her daughter was getting treatment, she enrolled in a 12-week course for carers of patients with mental illness.

When Ms Liu returned home, her mother observed her likes and dislikes. For example, because she was worried that people might peek at her, her mother installed blinds in their flat.

Ms Liu’s biggest fear, however, was of the uncertainty about what was going wrong with her life. So she stayed cooped up at home. “I was very withdrawn … I totally blocked off everyone.”

She also could not form proper sentences to express herself. Extreme apathy and social withdrawal, poverty of speech, a severe lack of emotional reactivity and disorganised behaviour are some of the common symptoms of schizophrenia, noted Dr Tang.

Ms Liu’s mother guided her every step of the way, including once when she was just confused about how to climb the stairs of a pedestrian bridge.

“I didn’t know how to coordinate. I was very scared. My mum encouraged me to take one step at a time,” she recalled.

Mdm Tan said she slept only three hours a day during that period, ready to wake at any minute. She kept all the knives away and installed window grilles.

But even as she had to be like a new mother again, she knew could not act like a parent towards her daughter, or Ms Liu would not listen to her.

“I could only act as a friend because she’d only talk to the friend and listen to her friend,” she said. It worked.

From young, her daughter had never wanted to hug or even hold hands with her. But as trust started to grow anew, Mdm Tan tried slowly to hold her child’s hand when they went for walks.

“Little bit by little bit … until, oh my God, she didn’t let go of my hand – so, continue holding,” she said delightedly. Now they can call themselves “best friends”, her daughter added.

SEA CHANGE

Their relationship now is one of the reasons Ms Liu can call her illness a “blessing in disguise”. Another is her new lifestyle. She started exercising – “at least three times a week” – and sleeping early, before 10pm.

“I’d put all my devices outside the room, which I didn’t use to do. In the past, I’d put my handphone beside me on the bed, for people to jio (invite) me to go out, especially at night,” she said.

Her name was another change she made as part of a fresh start. She felt that the name Valerie was more auspicious.

In 2014, during her recovery process, she started work as a receptionist in a non-profit mental health organisation. She was initially reluctant because of her social anxiety. But her mother helped by accompanying her at first.

“After a few days, she said, ‘You go to work on your own. And then you text me if anything’s wrong,” Ms Liu recalled.

She pulled through, she thinks, because of the conducive environment and helpful colleagues. “They were very understanding. They knew about my condition.”

Two years later, she joined the Singapore Association for Mental Health. She is now a community education officer and also a peer support specialist, for which she is trained to help others with mental health issues.

That role in co-leading groups of people towards recovery by, for example, sharing her experiences, has become her passion. “It really motivates me,” she said. “I find that it’s very meaningful, and I learn a lot from them also.”

While she considers herself to be a recovered patient, she hopes she can do better, to repay her mother “for what she has done”.

“Without her, I won’t be where I am today,” said an emotional Ms Liu, who also credited her relatives. “I want to maintain my health so that, in future, I can have the strength to take care of her.”

As for any hopes of having a partner, Mdm Tan showed her protective motherly side by making sure that such questions were off the table for this story.

Looking back, she understands why her daughter was angry with her. “What she wanted was love. What she wanted was security from me, but I wasn’t there for such a long period,” she said.

Now she gets to give her daughter all that and be the mother she always wanted to be – and best friend too.

Where to find help:

Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222

Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1800 221 4444

Singapore Association of Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019

SINGAPORE: They may seem light, minimalist devices, but a hit by an e-scooter packs a wallop about nine times that of an average person’s punch – or more energy than a professional boxer’s punch.

And that’s if the e-scooter is travelling at the legal limit of 15kmh when it hits you.

This is enough force to easily send a grown man flying into the air, what more a frail senior citizen or a young child. But even so, it’s not the direct impact of the collision itself that pedestrians should be concerned about.

It’s what happens next that is the most dangerous, according to Associate Professor Yap Fook Fah from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University.

“As the body falls, the head will hit the ground at a speed of 15kmh, 20kmh or even higher – that is equal to 1.5 or two tonnes of force,” he told the programme Talking Point, after demonstrating the magnitude of the impact in a lab.

Studies show that this “could lead to very serious head injuries such as loss of consciousness, skull fracture, haemorrhage, tissue damage and so on”.

And then, he added for good measure – if the pedestrian is “really unlucky”, this is followed by the rider landing on the pedestrian, crushing him or her.

In March, a 45-year-old woman had to undergo brain surgery after she was hit by an e-scooter as she stepped off an overhead bridge. A 23-year-old man was arrested for causing a rash act.

In a recent episode, Talking Point explored the debate on whether personal mobility devices (PMDs) like e-scooters should be more stringently regulated, or even banned from footpaths altogether.

CAN’T STOP IN TIME

From January to September 2017, there were about 110 accidents involving PMDs. Of these, 30 involved pedestrians on footpaths and walkways.

The same year, the authorities decided on more stringent rules that would move e-scooters from the roads to the pavements, with speeds capped at 15kmh on footpaths and 25kmh on shared and cycling paths.

But it’s not the physics of a collision alone that makes e-scooters a potentially growing danger in Singapore: There’s the proliferation of these devices, particularly in the hands of young and inexperienced riders; and the fact that stopping in time is not as simple as some riders might think.

To illustrate, programme host Diana Ser conducted an experiment where an e-scooter rider had to brake when the host flagged her to stop. In the first run-throughs at 15kmh, it took the rider 1.65m to 3.2m to come to a complete stop.

The implication: Even at the legal speed limit, the likelihood of collision is extremely high if a pedestrian suddenly appears in front of a rider.

When the rider ratcheted her speed up to 25kmh – the legal limit on shared paths – it took her up to 7m to come to a complete stop.

The lag times make these devices particularly dangerous when ridden in places like void decks.

Take 65-year-old Madam Lee, who in April, was stepping out of a lift when she was hit from behind and fell. She hadn’t heard the e-scooter coming.

The rider, who also fell, picked up his device and sped off without so much as a word, she recalled. 

“I screamed, “Why did you ride here? You can’t ride here,” said Mdm Lee who suffered a cut on the face and some bruises.  (Read: 15-year-old assisting police in Ang Mo Kio e-scooter accident investigation)

In another incident that same month, a 24-year-old e-scooter rider was arrested after crashing into an 11-year-old girl from behind. She needed to have her jaw and gums realigned, aside from losing two teeth, said her father.

AGE, IMMATURITY PLAY A PART

Then there are those who illegally modify their rides to travel in excess of 100kmh – faster than some motorcycles.

Mr Victor Lee, general manager of e-scooter distributor Falcon PEV, said he has heard that the highest speed clocked by an e-scooter was a staggering 140kmh.

Last October, three men aged between 32 and 37 were arrested after they were caught riding their e-scooters at speeds of more than 100kmh along Nicoll Drive.

Still, Mr Lee was of the view that it is the rider, not the ride, that makes the difference.

“A very experienced rider – whether he’s riding a modified or a fully compliant e-scooter – would have the foresight and awareness to slow down to a speed that he can handle, and that is safe for the public,” he said.

WATCH: From braking, to impact (2:13)

Many accidents are caused by young riders, typically below 20 years of age, he said. “They are the ones who, due to a lack of maturity, training and experience, do get into more accidents.”

And with more e-scooter sharing services entering the market, there have been concerns over how responsible these service providers are.

Telepod, the first e-scooter hire service to launch in Singapore, said they impose no minimum age limit. Their youngest user is a primary school student.

But to use their services, riders are required to have a debit or credit card, said chief executive Ms Gan Jin Ni, and most young children would not have access to these unless they had their parents’ permission.

“We actually have some form of control because the parents would be aware, and they would decide whether they want the kid to use the service or not,” she said.

REVIEW SPEED LIMITS, OR BAN E-SCOOTERS

Elsewhere in the world, the tide is turning: In San Francisco earlier this year, for example, e-scooter sharing companies were prohibited from operating.

In Singapore, the number of riders travelling in an inconsiderate and reckless manner has been rising, noted the Active Mobility Advisory Panel. Hence its proposed mandatory registration for all e-scooters, to kick in later this year.

This month, the Active Mobility Act took effect, which not only spells out the rules and codes of conduct for the safe use of PMDs, but also gives the authorities more teeth to deal with reckless PMD users.

But for all these measures, the presence of e-scooters on pavements here is still provoking debate.

(Read: E-scooter community disagrees on effectiveness of new measures to curb errant riding)

For instance, in Parliament this week, Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan called for the “unsafe” speed limit of 25kmh on shared paths such as park connectors to be lowered.

Others are calling for an outright ban on e-scooters from footpaths – given impetus by the rising number of accidents and people feeling unsafe, acknowledged Mr Andrew Cheah, acting director for the Land Transport Authority’s Active Mobility Unit.

He said the unit is keeping “a very close eye on the situation on the ground”, and hoped for a more gracious culture where all pedestrians and riders “behave responsibly and co-exist in a respectful manner”.

“But say, in the future we find that it is difficult to achieve this and more measures are needed –it is safe to say that we will not hesitate to take firmer action as well,” he added.

Watch this episode of Talking Point here. New episodes every Thursday at 9.30pm on Mediacorp Channel 5.

SINGAPORE: A total of 38 people were arrested in police raids targeting gambling and vice activities over a three-day operation from Wednesday (May 16) to Friday.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said the raids were at Jalan Besar, Beach Road, Bencoolen Street, Telok Blangah Rise, Jalan Minyak, Owen Road, Hong Kong Street, Topaz Road, Aliwal Street, Trengganu Street, King George’s Ave, Syed Alwi Road, Victoria Street and Bendemeer Road.  

Officers arrested 19 men and 19 women between the ages of 21 and 80 for vice, gambling and immigration-related offences. 

Among them were 11 women believed to have been providing paid sexual services at hotels and rented apartments while in Singapore on employment passes and short-term visit passes. They were arrested for offences under the Women’s Charter. 

Fifteen men and seven women were arrested for remote gambling-related offences along King George’s Ave, Telok Blangah Rise, Jalan Minyak, Beach Road and Bendemeer, the police said, adding that S$2,400 was seized from them. 

The remaining four men were arrested for immigration-related offences while a woman was arrested for using criminal force against a public servant, they added. 

Journalists were invited to join police officers for a gambling raid at King George’s Avenue and later a vice operation at Syed Alwi Road on Friday, the last day of the operation.

After plainclothes police officers descended on a coffee shop along King George’s Avenue at around 7.30pm, Channel NewsAsia arrived at the scene and noticed several men had been taken aside for suspected illegal horse-betting.

Officers found some of the men – including an 80-year-old – possessed betting slips. While some sat quietly, others protested loudly and argued with officers.

After an hour, the suspects were handcuffed and led away in a police vehicle.

Later at 10.30pm, Channel NewsAsia accompanied officers to Syed Alwi Road for a vice operation. In the thick of the crowd, we spotted plainclothes officers questioning two Indian national women who had been soliciting at nearby coffee shops.

Moments later, another two women were arrested further down the road at another coffee shop for offences under the Women’s Charter.

All four women are believed to be part of a syndicate and suspected of providing sexual services from hotels and rental apartments while in Singapore on employment passes and short-term visit passes. 

In a statement, the police said they would “spare no effort” to clamp down on vice and criminal activities. 

“Those found engaging in illicit activities will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law,” the statement said.

Landlords and hotel owners are to ensure that tenants do not carry out vice activities in their premises, the police said. 

Under the Women’s Charter, unlicensed brothel operators can be punished with a fine of up to S$10,000 and up to five years’ imprisonment. Any person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person can also be jailed up to five years and fined up to S$10,000.

Any person found guilty of gaming in any public can also be fined up to S$5,000 and jailed up to six months.

Investigations against all suspects are ongoing, the police said. 

SINGAPORE: Several stranded commuters, including those with young children, had to walk on the train tracks on Saturday (May 19) after a train fault on the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) brought services to a halt. 

Train service was disrupted for nearly two hours.

In a tweet at around 2.20pm, SMRT said there was no train service on the BPLRT due to a “train fault” between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang station.

In a subsequent tweet at around 2.50pm, SMRT said that Train Service A had resumed and that its engineers were working to recover Train Service B. 

At around 3.50pm, SMRT said the train fault was cleared and that Train Service B was “gradually being restored”.

In photos submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader, passengers can be seen walking on the train tracks. A woman can also be seen carrying her young child as she made her way to the nearest station.

A passenger who was on the affected train told Channel NewsAsia that the LRT  was “stuck” between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang station for about 20 minutes before an engineer came to their rescue.

After 10 minutes of “troubleshooting”, the passenger said the engineer allowed them to walk along the track to Bukit Panjang station. The passenger also noted that the train cabin was “very hot” as there was no air conditioning during that period.

In March, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the upcoming replacement of LRT vehicles and renewal of signalling systems on the BLPRT will improve passenger service.