The fact that the 39-year-old mentally ill carjacker lost his life at such a tender age is most distressing.

Having to live with an elderly mother and a disabled brother can be very stressful, especially when Chng Chee Kar was under psychiatric care. What measures were there to help him?

In his 90-minute dialogue at The Arts House on Aug 6, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew commented that some people had dumped their dementia-struck parents at the Institute of Mental Health. I am glad he raised this problem, but he must also understand that caregiving for the mentally ill is a full-time job and not many family members can take this extremely difficult journey because it drains one mentally, physically and financially.

This is why it is crucial for the Government to play a supporting role in providing step-down care services, such as day-care centres, and structural support for caregivers. Raising funds for the mentally ill at a national level will ease the financial burden of these citizens, many of whom cannot find jobs because of discrimination.

I have also suggested that the Government explore the feasibility of tying up with big supermarkets to deliver meals and sundry goods to the elderly. Such an initiative will not only benefit the elderly and caregivers, but also help to create jobs.

The Government must also help to bring costs down. The impending move to raise bus and MRT fares will place a heavy burden on caregivers. Before you recover from one price increase, another one sets in. How do caregivers cope?

My birthday wish for Singapore as it celebrates its 42nd birthday is to for people, including the Government, to show more empathy and compassion for the mentally ill because they are often trapped in an illness over which they have no control.

Raymond Anthony Fernando