Getting some to wear masks not an easy task

When Mr Ashley Ng approached a man to tell him to wear a mask, the senior said repeatedly and loudly in Hokkien that he had no money.

"I wondered if he thought of me as a robber," mused Mr Ng, 29, who has been a safe distancing ambassador since April 7.

Such incidents are all in a day's work for Mr Ng, who is also a senior planner and engineer at national water agency PUB.

Not every encounter is so lighthearted, however.

One man deliberately took off his mask when advised to wear it properly, and turned violent when told to put it back on.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Despite the risks, Mr Ng, whose wife is a doctor at a public hospital, said he volunteered as he believed the circuit breaker measures would be effective only if everyone adhered to them as much as possible.

He added: "This period is trying for all of us, and I'm no exception as I can't do many of the things that I'd have liked to do - like playing sports with friends, having gatherings, or taking my infant girl to visit her grandparents."

But Mr Ng presses on, fuelled by his faith, his family and the knowledge that the situation is temporary and will eventually pass.

"This is certainly an unprecedented time in independent Singapore's history, but it will pass. I hope that we'd be able to look back on this and know that each and every one of us... did our part to pull Singapore through this crisis."