“Good people can do bad things, make bad decisions. It doesn’t make them bad people.”
― Sonia Sotomayor (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States), My Beloved World

We have all made mistakes in our life, though, I’m sure we’ve all learnt from those mistakes and changed as a result. Like us, many individuals have taken unfavourable and regrettable decisions in their life. Though some may not change, most ex-criminals learn from their mistakes and changed. After leaving prison, ex-criminals have to face a larger prison – Singapore. Mr Michael Teoh and Mr Jabez Koh, both ex-criminals struggled to find a regular life back from prison in Singapore. In this article, through Mr Teoh and Mr Koh’s experiences, we will uncover how ex-criminals are treated in Singapore.

A broken past.
“Mr Teoh grew up in a broken home. He was abandoned by his biological father, and his mother did not have a strong presence in his life. His stepfather beat him often and schoolmates bullied him. ” (Cheng Wei). People usually move to crime as a consequence of being isolated in society. To support these ex-criminals we must be accepting of them and support them to change, by discriminating against them we are making it harder for them to change and recreating an environment where they will turn back to crime. After being released, he got support from his family and still spends “at least six hours a week holding group counselling sessions at Changi Prison. He helps out at halfway houses occasionally and trains volunteers.”(Cheng Wei). Even though Mr Teoh can live a fulfilling life providing for his family he still goes back to the prison to support fellow inmates, when asked why he responded “I must stand up from where I fell. Last time, I killed someone. Now, I want to save lives.” (Cheng Wei). Mr Teoh is an example of a changed convict, from killing someone, he recreated a new Michael Teoh, one that forgave and supported, one that benefits society every day.

Acting against the discrimination.
Another such convict is Mr Jabez Koh, “In 1997, he was caught trafficking 2.5kg of heroin, He was sentenced to 24 years’ jail and ordered to be given 20 strokes of the cane instead.” (Hariz Baharudin).After leaving prison he entered a ‘second prison’,being discriminated and oppressed. People would exploit him and take advantage of him because he was an ex-criminal, they would make him work extra hours as they would know he wouldn’t have anywhere else to go. This unfair treatment made Mr Koh to “set up logistics company Infinite Transport in 2014. More than half of Infinite Transport’s 11 employees have criminal records.” (Hariz Baharudin). Though Mr Koh was almost given the death sentence, much like Mr Teoh during the 24 years he spent in jail he learnt and changed as a person. When he left, Mr Koh says “When I came out, I was determined to change my life and make the most of every moment,” (Michelle Ng) and he did, he helps former drug abusers and raises more awareness on the discrimination of ex-criminals. Through his own experiences, Mr Koh helps people understand and learn about the discrimination of ex-criminals and what they should do to stop it from happening. Now, even as an ex-criminal Mr Koh is one of the most contributing individuals in Singapore.

When we send individuals to prison we expect them to change and learn their lesson. So when they come out, why do we still treat them like criminals? The Media plays a large role in vilifying these ex-criminals, often portraying them as monsters and inhuman. As Dr Christian Perrin said in a talk during writer’s fortnite “The media makes us feel afraid, there’s money in that… if you can make people feel afraid you can capitalise on it.” Later saying “Certainly in the UK, the media wants to portray criminals and sexual offenders as monsters”. Though he talks about the UK, the same thing happens in Singapore, creating a false perception in the citizens of Singapore. We must be more accepting of ex-criminals, Similar to Mr Teoh many criminals have traumatic experiences in their life and if we don’t treat them humanely and responsibly when they are released from prison, they may relapse and commit a crime again. To stop this cycle of irresponsible behaviour we must start by being more forgiving and understanding of these individuals and treat them as a fellow human. If you would like to be more involved in supporting ex-criminals there are already many organisations like ‘ CARE Network’ or the ‘Yellow Ribbon Project’ that you can join and support to help ex-criminals in Singapore. As Mr Koh said “A chance. What [ex-criminals] need most is just a chance. Most people want to change – if only others allow them to.” (Hariz Baharudin).

Works Cited
Answers Ltd. “Ex-Convict Discrimination in Singapore.” UKEssays, UK Essays, 6 Feb. 2019, www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/is-discrimination-against-ex-offenders-justifiable-criminology-essay.php.
Baharudin, Hariz. “Discrimination – the Second Prison.” The New Paper, 1 Dec. 2016, www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/discrimination-second-prison.
Ng, Michelle. “Businessman Who Escaped the Gallows among More than 6,500 in Yellow Ribbon Prison Run.” The Straits Times, 9 Sept. 2018, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/businessman-who-escaped-the-gallows-among-more-than-6500-in-yellow-ribbon-prison-run.
Wei, Cheng. “He Wants to End Bias against Convicts.” The Straits Times, 1 Jan. 2018, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/he-wants-to-end-bias-against-convicts.