Life in the RTC

The facility was built for young offenders to undergo reformative training, but it could also be a breeding ground for more gang problems.

By the time he was 24, Mr Daniel Yong had spent nearly a decade in and out of the Singapore Boys’ Home, Reformative Training Centre (RTC) and Changi Prison.

Mr Yong, who is now 35 and runs a stainless steel fabrication business, joined a gang when he was 15. He was living in Boys’ Town, which provides residential care for children and youths from disadvantaged families, after his father was jailed.

He never found out why his father was jailed, as they became estranged before the latter died in 2017. His parents divorced when he was three, and he did not see his mother until after his father died.

Mr Daniel Yong, who is now 35 and runs a stainless steel fabrication business, joined a gang when he was just 15. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

In his youth, Mr Yong committed various offences. He was a loan shark runner and drug trafficker and also got involved in robbery.

The former offender told The Straits Times that his 22-month stint in the RTC between 2004 and 2006 was the most challenging as he was locked up with others in the same age group.