AT ONE end of a funeral wake at a void deck of an HDB flat, relatives and friends mourn and offer prayers to the dead man.

Behind the coffin, though, a group of over a dozen men and women, seemingly oblivious to the chanting and sombre mood, are betting big money on games of chance.

WHEN Mr Abdul Rahman Mohamad started out as a gravedigger three decades ago at the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, he had more than 30 colleagues. Now, the 45-year-old is just one of nine left.

He took on the job after leaving school at 16, following in his father's footsteps.

TUCKED away in the red light district of Geylang is a building that seems almost out of place amid the vice of Singapore's most notorious quarter.

But the Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic has been a pillar of the community for almost four decades, offering free medical care for the elderly and poor of all races and religions.