SingaporeTyrannosaur

14 Oct 08, 14:21

Rising suicide rate: Do something when we see someone in need of a helping hand

I READ with dismay the article, 'Suicide figures up - 419 deaths last year' (ST, Aug 13).

Nevertheless, I am not surprised at the rising suicide figures and believe that it will continue to climb in the near future as I see many people facing difficulty coping with a stressful lifestyle deprived of much support.

People belonging to the sandwiched generation especially face mounting pressures, mainly financial, and if they fail to see a way out of their problem, may attempt suicide. To them, living is tortuous and death seems like a permanent relief to all their problems which is but a myth. They will leave behind loved ones who not only will miss their presence but also have to live on with doubts of whether they are the ones at fault.

It is common knowledge that our population faces mounting work pressure. Many work long hours and only go home to sleep. Weekends are also confined to indoor activity as they recuperate from a long week at work. There is hardly any work-life balance here. Most people's lives revolve around work.

As families get smaller, the supportive reach of an extensive family network is also remote. Many also fail to have time to establish any meaningful friendships and may miss out on opportunities to confide their problems in someone. Many who have problems, especially men, will not seek out counsellors from nearby neighbourhood family service centres for counselling support, further compounding the issue.

A close classmate of mine committed suicide at the tender age of 21. He suffered from an inferiority complex and family members also failed to understand him. After being discharged from the mental hospital, he hanged himself outside a church. As his classmates who helped him along the way, we were devastated and blamed ourselves for not doing enough to help him.

I often questioned the quality of our counsellors in family service centres (FSCs), having worked in one myself a few years back as a social-work aide.

Most workers there are young and trained in social work. It will be difficult for them to identify with the issues a middle-aged person is going through and also how he can earn the respect of the counsellee who is much more seasoned in life.

FSCs need to deploy properly trained counsellors who are mature enough to deal with the issues of this critical age group. Hopefully, this will take some load off the suicide-prevention group Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) which continues to face manpower shortages.

As Singapore progresses, many will also struggle to keep pace in a modern fast-paced society. Let us offer our shoulder if we see someone in need of a helping hand. You never know that your kind words of comfort may dissuade someone from thoughts of ending his life. It is when we take time to care for one another that we can say we are a First World nation.

Gilbert Goh Keow Wah

SingaporeTyrannosaur

14 Oct 08, 14:24

Stop violence, and gang and crimes in singapore

Anyone with information on the incidents can call the police hotline at 1800-2550000.

BLACK ski masks. Long parang knives. Black-shirted men.

The gang attacked and slashed Ash on his head, which required stitches, as well as his shoulder and back. - Picture: KENNETH KOH
They looked like they belong in a fight scene in a Hong Kong movie on triads.

But there they were, at the void deck of Block 13, Eunos Crescent on Friday night.

And they confronted a group of five friends gathered there.

At first the group of friends were puzzled at the sight of seven men, who suddenly appeared in front of them.

Then trouble struck.

At around 9pm, the men attacked them with the weapons, causing them to scatter in different directions.

The attackers split up and chased the victims, slashing them viciously with the parangs and knives after catching up with them in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.

All five victims were later sent to the hospital, where two received outpatient treatment and three have been hospitalised since then.

And it was not the only such attack that night.

Over at Tampines at around 8.15pm, an 18-year-old boy was assaulted and seriously injured. (See report on facing page).

When contacted, police spokesman ASP Stanley Norbert said they are investigating if both incidents are linked.

SHAKEN

Ahmad (not his real name), 24, was the most seriously injured among the five at the Eunos attack, suffering slash wounds on both arms and his head.

The other two, who were also warded, suffered slash wounds on their hand and stomach respectively.

Still looking shaken from the attack, Ahmad told The New Paper yesterday at Changi General Hospital (CGH), where he is warded, that it was an unprovoked attack.

He claimed that he and his group have no enemies nor have they offended anyone.

That was why when he first saw the armed, masked men, he thought they were going to attack others, not their group.

Ahmad said: 'I first saw about seven men, who appeared from behind the walls. They were wearing ski masks and each one was carrying either a parang or a sword.

'I thought they were looking for others. We had no time to react or run away at all before they attacked us.'

Ahmad said he and his friends, whose ages range from 17 to 24, fled in different directions with the assailants in hot pursuit.

Ahmad himself ran to Block 16 where he was pounced upon at the void deck by two attackers.

He said: 'Then three other men, also wearing ski masks and carrying parangs, appeared and also started attacking me.'

He tried to protect his head by using his hands to cover it.

'But when I did so, I heard the (hacking) sounds,' he recounted.

'I knew that the parang had hit me.'

Ahmad then tried to run into a lift.

A middle-aged man was about to exit and was threatened by the attackers.

Ahmad said: 'They warned him to get out of the way or they would also chop him.'

The five attackers then tried to force their way into the lift as Ahmad kept kicking them out.

He succeeded only after one of them told the gang 'enough' in Malay and they left.

By then, Ahmad's hands were soaked with blood, with bones visible from the wounds.

'I thought I was going to die,' he said. 'If they had managed to enter the lift, I think I would have been dead by now.'

Taking the lift to the sixth floor, he sought help from a household, whose main door was open.

'I told them that I had been attacked by a gang and asked them to help call for an ambulance.'

The family also helped dress his wounds and gave him drinks.

Ahmad said they also kept talking to him because he told them he was going to faint. Later, the police and ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.

Ahmad's elder sister, 33, said she was distraught to see him badly injured.

She said: 'I don't know why they attacked my brother. He isn't the sort to mix with bad company.

'I hope the police will step up patrols and also arrest these people soon.'

Ahmad is now fearful of returning to Eunos Crescent, the neighbourhood where he had lived for nearly 20 years.

He moved out of the area five years ago, but would return there almost daily to hang out with his childhood friends. He said his family had plans to move back there next year because they like the area so much.

'But now, I'm not so sure.'

One of his injured friends, who is still warded at CGH, said Ahmad was the worst hit.

Requesting not to be named, he added: 'We do not know who these guys are and we have never offended anyone before.'

Police spokesman ASP Stanley Norbert said that so far, there have been no arrests and those injured in both the cases are being interviewed.

'The two cases are being investigated as rioting armed with dangerous weapon,' he added.

Those convicted of the offence face a jail term of up to seven years and caning

Terror Road Rage Case in Singapore

HANGING on to the bonnet of a speeding car as it kept swerving to throw you off is something that happens only in the movies.

For two minutes yesterday afternoon, he did just that.

The reason he ended up on the bonnet is even more shocking - it was an argument over a scratch.

Luckily for Mr Koh, 36, he escaped with only abrasions.

The sales executive was walking back to his Toyota Wish which was parked on Tembeling Road, near Joo Chiat.

He recalled: 'I had just collected a cheque from a client and was walking back to my car to drive off for lunch.

'From a distance, I saw a man walking pass the right side of my car.

'I thought I saw him scratching the right passenger door with his car keys.'

When Mr Koh reached his car, he found a 15cm scratch on his silver Wish which he bought new two years ago.

The man who scratched Mr Koh's car got into a black Nissan Cefiro which was parked behind Mr Koh's.

Both cars were in parallel parking lots.

Mr Koh said: 'By the time I reached my car, the man was already trying to get out of the parking lot.

'I tapped on the bonnet to get the driver's attention.

'But he kept inching his car forward even though I signalled to him to stop. I had to keep stepping back in order not get hit.

'All of a sudden, the driver surged forward and I had no time to react. As a result, I slumped forward on the car's bonnet.'

The car did not stop and Mr Koh had to hold on to the bonnet so as not to fall off.

The Nissan drove about 15m towards the junction of Tembeling Road and East Coast Road.

There, the driver slowed down to make a left turn to get on to East Coast Road.

Mr Koh said: 'I kept yelling at the driver to stop. But it was no use. I couldn't really see his face because of the glare from the front windscreen.

'The windows were shut, so I don't think he could hear me.'

After the Nissan got on to East Coast Road, the driver tried to shake Mr Koh off.

Mr Koh said: 'He kept swerving left and right after he turned left on to East Coast Road.

'I couldn't do anything except to grip the bonnet very tightly and shouted at him to stop.

'I remembered turning my head back as he sped on. I saw the back of a lorry and the Nissan slowed down to avoid hitting the lorry.'

About 200m after getting on to East Coast Road, the Nissan brushed against a motorcycle which was travelling on the left lane of the two-lane road.

Mr Koh said: 'The driver continued moving ahead even after the Nissan brushed against a motorcycle. Then, it turned left towards Still Road.

'After that, I couldn't hang on to the car any more and I fell off the bonnet.'

Mr Koh landed on the road and rolled onto the middle lane of Still Road and almost got hit by a despatch rider when he rolled into his lane.

The despatch rider, Mr Mohd Shahril, 32, thought that an 'object had came into his path'.

Mr Shahril, who was on Still Road travelling towards Eunos, said: 'I was surprised when I found out that the 'object' was actually a man. If I had not braked in time, the both of us would surely be hurt.'

Mr Koh finally came to a stop near a bus stop.

Mr Koh said: 'My chin hit the ground even though I tried to use my arms to cushion the fall. It was very painful and I couldn't move.

'Luckily, a motorcyclist came by to help me. Some other people from the bus stop also came to help.'

Mr Shahril said he does not know who was more crazy - the driver of the fleeing car or the man who held on to the bonnet.

He said: 'From the corner of my eye, I could see and hear the screeching sound the speeding car was making. The driver didn't even slow down as he entered the filter lane.

'The driver is crazy because the man could have been dragged under the wheels of his car.'

Those who had helped Mr Koh took him to the bus stop and called for an ambulance. He was taken to Changi General Hospital.

Mr Koh suffered abrasions to both his arms and his knees. His left shirt pocket was torn and his pants were also torn at the knees.

Mr Koh recalled that the driver of the Nissan wore a blue T-shirt with blue shorts, but couldn't make out his appearance as he only saw the driver from a distance.

But Mr Koh said the driver was a short and plump man in his 40s.

Mr Koh said: 'Scratching my car was a small matter. I only wanted to talk to him about it. But what he did could have cost me my life.'

He made a police report at the accident and emergency ward of CGH.

Mr Koh's wife, Madam S Chong, 36, said the Nissan driver's behaviour was 'outrageous'.

She was having lunch when her husband called her while he was in the ambulance to CGH.

Madam Chong said: 'At first, I thought he was joking as my husband likes to joke a lot. As he could still talk to me on the phone, I knew he wasn't too badly hurt.

The Kohs have two children aged 4 and 8.

A passer-by gave Mr Koh the licence plate number of the Nissan.

He said: 'It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to see the car plate number.

'Luckily, there were witnesses who saw what happened.'

The police said they were informed of the incident at about 1pm.

They are investigating the matter which involves a car driver, a motorcyclist and a pedestrian.

A similar incident happened on 9 Apr. Mr Alex Lim was driving his girlfriend home for dinner, but along Paterson Road, his red Mazda was involved in a minor collision with a taxi.

Both drivers then parked along Scotts Road and got out of their vehicles. An argument followed.

Cabby Lee Yuet Kong, who was carrying a passenger at the time, allegedly got back into his taxi and tried to drive off.

Mr Lim, a finacial adviser, wanting to get Lee's particulars, stood in front of the cab, but Lee reportedly drove away, throwing him onto the bonnet.

He later allegedly braked abruptly, causing Mr Lim to fall backwards and hit his head on the ground.

Mr Lim died on 13 May.

Lee, a 68-year-old relief driver, has been charged with causing grievous hurt with a rash act.