ST Oct 19, 2006
Man fatally hit by train, services disrupted
TRAIN services were disrupted for a short while last night after a man was fatally hit by a train.
Closed-circuit cameras at the Chinese Garden MRT station reportedly captured the man flinging himself into the path of an oncoming train.
The man, in his mid-40s, was alone at the station platform at 10.10pm, the police said. He was wearing a light-coloured T-shirt and dark shorts at the time.
The CCTV footage has been handed over to the police, said SMRT officials. The police are investigating.
Those travelling on the train - which was moving at a speed of over 50kmh - said they felt it hit something and screech to a stop. At the same time, the lights in some sections of the train went out.
Said polytechnic student Ricky Ong, 20: 'We didn't realise it was anything serious. We just thought the train had broken down.'
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Technorati: Singapore.
28 comments:
ya lol .. i oso dun understand who come people just seem to prefer to die in such a way ..
man kind ! hai ~
and the mess created! imagine the cleanup!
can you imagine the shock the train driver get!?
The question is, why are there more people choosing death instead of life?
The method is just personal preference, I guess. Some prefer to go instantly while others prefer to do it in luxury.
"The question is, why are there more people choosing death instead of life?"
Huh?
Come on folks! Have some thought for the poor man !!! Poverty has driven the man to his death & it's happening right here in prosperous Singapore. And if I remember correctly, some minister has claimed that there was no truth in some statistics taken which indicated that some Singaporean were actually living from hand to mouth. So much for a welfwareless society!!!
It's really sad. The man was unemployed for months and his family was living from hand to mouth. Perhaps he jumped out of desperation and depression, but this is so avoidable. There are family services centres around that can provide some form of financial assistance or help them apply to Shaw or Lee foundation for some urgent financial needs. There is also the Straits Times Pocket Money fund. There were options available that could have alleviated the tremendous financial stress and depression. If only he didn't jump >_< It's so tragic because it is so avoidable.
While my mum n i were talking about his plight (how his family didn't even have money to go down to the mortuary to recognize his body n no money even for his burial), the news showed the Piaget diamonds-encrusted watches on display at Takashimaya. Suddenly the excessive wealth seemed obscene. Sigh.
Sigh ...
We don't want street protests because they will inconvenience us and can turn violent.
We object having hospices near our properties because they will lower our house values.
We don't want people to die on MRT tracks because they will make a mess and stop the service running.
Man has ceased to be mankind.
They are behaving like the wild savages in the jungle, where the fittest survives.
Apparently months before his request for financial aid was rejected because his household income of $1.4k was deemed enough by the town council to warrant assistance.
And yesterday during the wake the walkover MPs for Bukit Batok turned up for photo opportunity and sprout govt assistance plans. Hypocrites!
Sorry it was Boon Lay
Anonymous at Friday, October 20, 2006 10:53:27 AM: "his request for financial aid was rejected because his household income of $1.4k was deemed enough by the town council".
Shit! That's what we get from bureacrates who conveniently operate by the rule-book instead of looking into the merits of each case.
1. Deny financial assistance to the needy
2. Kick singles from socialization programmes
3. Anymore?
Just to share...
On Mon 02-Oct, Derek Wee, 35, university grad employed in MNC wrote abt job insecurity and short shelf-life in Singapore:
http://derekwee.blogspot.com
/2006_10_01_derekwee_archive.html
"To PM Lee and the Ministers, we are on a different platform. Until you truly understand our insecurity, the future of Singapore to me remains a question mark."
Yesterday 19-Oct, AMK's PAP MP Wee Swee Kim's daughter Wee Shu Min replied in her blog:
"too often singaporeans - both the neighborhood poor and the red-taloned socialites - kid themselves into believing that our society, like most others, is compartmentalized by breeding. ridiculous.
...dear derek is one of many wretched, undermotivated, overassuming leeches in our country, and in this world. one of those who would prefer to be unemployed and wax lyrical about how his myriad talents are being abandoned for the foreigner's, instead of earning a decent, stable living as a sales assistant.
...please, get out of my elite uncaring face."
With leaders whose "family education" breed offsprings with such narrow perceptions, is it any wonder why a poor peasant would feel that he has no recourse for assistance (after being rejected by his Town Council for help)?
Oh, don't bother to look for Ms Wee's blog, the whole blog was swiftly taken-down within the day. A gutless no-brainer elite who cannot even fight her case, unlike peasant-class xiaxue.
You can read her "non-apology" (written in the same vein as LKY's non-apology over "marginalized chinese in MY" remarks) and extracts of her infamous blog entry at Wei Kiat's blog:
http://weikiatblog.blogspot.com
/2006/10/looking-back-home.html
"dear wei kiat, i apologise if i have distressed you with my tendency to rant..."
secretfire1 from sam's coffeshop observes sharply:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod
/messages?msg=121090.21
"in a truly democratic society, no ruling elites, or even their offsprings dare to speak in such arrogant manner. Voters will make them pay the political price".
surely you realise, he killed himself in such a dramatic fashion, so that his family can benefit...I think the public donated $30,000 already...
whereas if you killed yourself by jumping off a hdb flat, sorry, that's so common, its no longer newsworthy.
its only a matter of time before people immolate themselves at cityhall or raffles place..
i've just followed those threads and links.. my gosh that young female pup has a lot to learn about life, doesn't she? good engrish but no heart, no manners and no character. her comments really made my blood boil. i think people like her should be punished by sweeping the streets of singapore for a day to get a taste of non-elitist life so that she'll think twice before she shoots her mouth off. *rolls eyes*
{{{The question is, why are there more people choosing death instead of life?}}}
Indeed. How puzzling indeed. I mean, Singapore is paradise on earth with MINDBOGGLING opportunities for all, the best government shitloads of money can buy, and everyone is happy and smiling (all 4 million of us), so it follows there is no reason whatsover for suicides.
No... the man must have just slipped and fell. Perhaps he couldn't see the yellow line well enough in the haze coupled with poor lighting? Perhaps he jumped for joy at the sight of the highlight of the world-class transport system - the MRT train, and lost his footing at the platform?
He must be pretty well-to-do too, and thus could afford to enter the MRT station gantry, despite the fare hike and all. It must be a lie, how could he be jobless? Perhaps he's too choosy? There are plenty of jobs for Singapore residents to go around so he should be gainfully employed. See, even some octogenerians are still working and drawing top salaries. He's only half their age!
Nah... nobody should be poor, sucidal or depressed in Singapore. I don't believe it. Nope.
"I think the public donated $30,000 already..."
Get the drift?
That's the mentality of some Singaporeans. Our garmen has done well.
Long live meritocracy!
It is hard for “elites” to connect with “peasants”. Poor guy.
From The New Paper dd 20 oct 06:
"Mr Tan (the deceased)'s MP, Mdm Ho Geok Choo, (West Coast GRC), attended his wake last night. She said they had checked their records and was puzzled that he had not approached them for help.
She said: "I am quite sad because the Govt has all these packages in place but why are these ppl missin out on them? Is it because they are not aware of them?
We must look into how else we can reach out to these ppl."
This is not the first case in Sg. Such question has always been asked by the govt officials all the time. How and when an improvement for better reach out to these poor ppl will take place? Till a precious human life is gone and many more to come?????????????
It's very easy - just do their rounds in the 1 or 2-rm HDB blocks and talk to the really needy ones. Either they haven't been doing that or they aren't doing their job well. And I am sure they've got ready access to IRAS or whatever figures if they bothered.
What better way to deflect criticism than using the "I am not aware...." line?
PR is a dirty word to me.
It's so shameful to be a Singaporean like her, indeed I'm referring to Ms Wee Shu Kim whose blog truly reflect so lowly of her upbringing despite being a product of one of S'pore's top elite school. I'm sure her blog must have brought instant fame (or disgrace?) to her PAP-MP father, if indeed she is the daughter. How can a top student like her have such thoughts? If the elite's offspring with such narrow minded thinking becomes our future bureaucrats/leaders, what hope will S'pore have! So sad indeed.
anonymous on Friday, October 20, 2006 8:53:58 PM: "just do their rounds in the 1 or 2-rm HDB blocks and talk to the really needy ones."
Just the 1 or 2-rm HDB is not enough. E.g. Broke bloke who jumped was in 3-rm HDB. Dunno other specifics of his case.
Many sg residents stretched their credit to the max in their property purchases during the boom years. Then when bad times came, they may not be able sell their homes at a loss to downgrade if they had taken a bank loan because the bank would have demanded full-payment of the loan, which one is unlikely to be able to cough-out due to the loss-making sale.
I think if financial troubles are due to lack of prudence and greed (taking a bigger bite than one can handle for the money), then it does not justify assistance from the government.
Besides, families buying flats direct from the HDB are already given big concessions compared to singles who can't even buy direct. The price of a 30 year old 3-rm HDB flat is also higher than a new one from the HDB. And they don't complain that much. Perhaps they should.
MP Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) claimed that the dead man did not approach the government for financial assistance - either she is lying through her snotty nose, or totally disconnected from the facts of the case. For the record, Mr Tan did attempt to seek help, but was asked to apply for the "pay as you use scheme". He did not apply because you have to have a history of having one's utilities supply cut off, and failure to pay for installments for 2 consecutive months. No wonder this has driven the man up the wall by the uncaring PAP bureaucrats. He had piles of unpaid bills in the drawers, hidden away from his wife when he decided to end it all. One is reminded of the many who killed themselves when they asked for access to their CPF when they ran out of cash. The bloody answer they got? "The CPF is for for your retirement"! How can the poor fellow retire when they don't have enough for food on the table for the next day?
Regarding CPF, they have improved a teeny weeny bit.
Back in the early 90s, I wrote to appeal for the use of my own CPF funds to pay for part of my overseas Masters fees.
No reply. Zilch.
Now, they allow CPF to be used for education.
If I'm not mistaken, you would still not be allowed to use your own CPF funds for your own education.
You can only use your parents' CPF fund for your own education. And I believe that this is still for local undergrad courses only.
"stretch credit to the max in their property purchases" - this plus the "asset enhancement" policy have to be the one-two killer blow that ruined many a Singaporean's life. Fundamentally, if one had put away 40% of one's paycheck in savings every month, one should have enough nest egg funds to retire at 55. The problem started when HDB decided to use "market value" and "opportunity costs" to price the "subsidized" housing flats, and everyone raided their retirement money to paid for overpriced flats. The gullible assumed they could "downgrade' when money is tight, but when everyone else is in the same hot soup, who will pick up the tab? It's a different scenario for those who can afford private housing; these folks have at least one for staying in and one for rental income. Case in point: my parents' 3 room flat, where we all grew up in, was bought for $8,000 and the recent upgrading exercise cost all of $25,000. Hello, how can a renovation job cost several times the original structure? Obvious some NKF type accountant must have juggled some numbers.
When the govt says "No one will be left behind", I am beginning to believe them.
Mr. Tan was definitely not left behind. In fact, he has gone ahead to heaven first.
it's desperation that drives a man to end his own life. when all hope is gone, that's the only logical solution.
in singapore, when you're not educated enough, and when you lose your job, and if you're above a certain age, you might be a desperate man. if you have no income, where do you find the money to pay your bills, your housing loans, your children's school fees? you either break the law and commit a crime, or you kill yourself, or you kill your dependents before killing yourself.
in singapore, the only way to make a living if you don't have a lot of money is to work. but if you can't find work, there's nothing else you can do to support yourself and your family. i know because i had been a victim of retrenchment, not once, but twice. in the old days, when my parents ran out of money, we could make our own food and go out selling door-to-door. these days, you can only go around selling pirated dvds illegally. there is no room for entrepreneuship for the poor and uneducated!
the government needs to relax the law a bit, otherwise more people will end up dead on the mrt tracks. yes, i think the government is partly responsible for this.
yes, we can donate money to the needy or the dead man's family, but that would not solve the problem. conversely, we might encourage more suicides because some guy might think that if he kill himself, at least there'll be lots of people who'll donate money to the family he leaves behind.
like they say, give a man a fish, he eats it in a day, but teach the man to fish, he eats it for his whole life.
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