Community support crucial in helping ex-offenders in the long term
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Mr Naresh Kumar (left), an equestrian assistant at Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore and Mr Aloysius Ong, senior chef at RE&S (Ichiban Boshi) at the Care Network Summit, on July 27, 2023.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE - At the age of 16, Naresh Kumar fell into a life of crime as a member of a secret society, spending many days behind bars for rioting and drug offences.
He had trouble escaping his vices and bad company. He knew that the only thing that might help keep him clean was working with animals.
“I have so much passion for animals,” he said, fondly recalling his childhood habit of bringing home any strays he could find to look after.
“I really wasted some opportunities when I was younger by doing stupid things. So I told myself that if I have another chance to work with animals, I would really cherish it and turn my life around,” he added.
He reached out for help, and groups in the community did not leave him hanging.
Different agencies helped him to take the decisive step to leave a life of crime – he got some money from Yellow Ribbon Singapore, the lead agency supporting former offenders, to help him get back on his feet; the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association subsidised the removal of a forehead tattoo; and the Industrial & Services Co-Operative Society paid for his lessons to get a driving licence.
A bursary from the Yellow Ribbon Fund helped him to attain a diploma in veterinary technology from Temasek Polytechnic.
Now 32, the animal lover spends his days surrounded by horses as an equestrian assistant at the Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore.
“When you really want to change, people will notice and step up to help you,” he said.
Mr Naresh was sharing his story with The Straits Times at the Care Network Summit, which was held at Fairmont Singapore on Thursday. It was organised by the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders Network, which was formed in 2000.
At the summit, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said that besides the prevention of offending and the rehabilitation of offenders during incarceration, the post-incarceration period is often the most challenging phase.
“We know that ex-offenders face many challenges when they come out – employment, housing and family relationships. In some cases, the difficulties persist for a very long time,” he said.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam delivering the opening address at the Care Network Summit, on July 27, 2023.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
The theme of the summit, Desistance In The Community, stressed the need for the community to support former offenders in their reintegration and desistance from crime.
Desistance is the act of abstaining from crime by those who have offended before, a process that requires community and other ongoing support.
The Singapore Prison Service launched the Desistor Network in April
The Singapore Prison Service’s annual stats show that about four in 10 offenders released from prison in 2017 ended up reoffending and were detained, sentenced to jail, or given a day reporting order within five years of their release. This is double the number of those who return to prison within two years of release.
The network also works with agencies and community partners to provide more training and employment opportunities and initiatives for former offenders.
On Thursday, Yellow Ribbon Singapore announced a new partnership with fashion brand Uniqlo to collect public donations of pre-loved Uniqlo clothing for former offenders to process, clean and then distribute to those in need.
Mr Shanmugam said: “Ex-offenders are not passive recipients of help. Through initiatives like these, they also give back to society.”
For 42-year-old Aloysius Ong, seeing his parents growing old prompted him to make a clean break from his past after various brushes with the law.
“The day I came out of prison, the first thing I did was to throw away my SIM card so that my old friends cannot contact me,” he said.
After he was released in 2016, he joined food service company RE&S as a kitchen assistant. Determined not to fall back into his old life, he worked hard through the years and progressed to become a senior chef in 2021.
“I had no experience cooking before this, but I told myself that nothing is worse than being incarcerated. If I can go through and survive hell inside prison, I don’t think there is any challenge I cannot handle,” he added.
As he was on his own journey of desisting, he saw the value of having support. He made the decision to mentor other former offenders and offer them guidance to stay on the straight and narrow.
“We came from the same place and we speak the same language. So I know what goes on in their mind, and they know what I am trying to teach them. They know I am there to help.”
