Daily Lesson from Life 18 April 2009

I missed last night blog as I was feeling under the weather and went to bed fairly early! 10pm!!

"Sat, Apr 18, 2009 The New Paper - Teen turns shop into gambling den

SHE tended the shop for her sick parents - and turned a portion of it into a gambling den.


The 17-year-old girl allegedly did this while waiting to further her studies at a polytechnic.

The police raided the den at Block 122, Bedok North, Street 2, on Tuesday at about 8.50pm and she was arrested under the Common Gaming House Act, said a police spokesman.

Two customers and a male accomplice believed to be her boyfriend were also arrested. Her accomplice is believed to be doing his national service. A police spokesman added that investigations are ongoing. Among the items seized were 20 computers and cash of $630.

There was a CCTV which would capture the image of the customer wanting to enter the den. The customers were mostly housewives and foreign workers, who allegedly used the computers to play slot-machine games. They would tot up their winnings or losses and pay at a counter.

The girl's parents are both ill and had asked her to help look after the shop for them. The girl's mother is suffering from cancer and her father is a stroke patient. Her mother allegedly did not know anything about the gambling den."

If the young girl is doing this so as to earn more money to care for the sicked parents, I like the laws to have mercy on her. She is still young and has a glorious future ahead of her after her poly education, and maybe more!

Lessons for me are:

1. when people are in desperate situation, they do desperate things. There is no doubt that what she did was wrong and against the laws. At the same time, the circumstances that led to this action must be understood properly and the human touch must be applied when there are mitigating factors. That is what a just and fair and humane judiciary is all about;

2. there is the entrepreneurial spirit in what she did. If she can be guided and channeled her energy and creativity to a proper business, who knows what may become of her! So, I preached boldness when dealing with such people. Help them to channel the creative energy to something positive!;

3. I could not help but had a dig at the police for busting her 'operation' as there were clearly other more apparent 'crimes' like the spread-like-wild-mushroom-after-the-rain phenomenon of street-walkers all over the traditional and non-traditional red-light districts of Singapore that go largely unchecked. The situation as so bad that one of the Member-of-Parliament has to appear on TV again to appeal for actions or clarify inaction!

May the laws has mercy on this young lady and that she be allowed to go to poly to start and, hopefully, complete her tertiary education. She can be the next casino queen of Singapore - the legal version!