A Pimp, A Prostitute And A ‘Pang Kopi’ Man

A Pimp, A Prostitute And A ‘Pang Kopi’ Man
By Shirley Tan-Oehler
Singapore: 31 March 2009, Tuesday

Just as we were getting seated, a man asked, in Mandarin: "Would the both of you like drinks?"

I looked towards him. Our eyes connected. In that moment, we recognised each other. But we did not acknowledge each other.

We – my daughter and I – ordered a Milo Dinosaur and Sugar Cane Juice.

I watched the man as he went about his work. He was polite as he approached the customers, moving away when anyone said he was not ready to order. He took care in serving up the drinks, collected payment and giving them change.

I know this man. I met him some 10 years ago.

He had come to a Meet-the-People Session to sought help from Andy Gan, Chairman of the PAP Potong Pasir Branch. He had a long-time girlfriend who was a Malaysian and they wanted to get married. He brought her along: Petite, pretty, pleasant. His mother was getting on with age. He wasn't getting any younger.

Andy counselled the couple and helped him write a petition letter. I helped Andy with the follow-up work.

Some months later, we received good news. They could be married in Singapore and be recognised as a married couple.

The man’s mother came to the Branch to thank Andy. He introduced me to his mother, as the one who “did the running”. Everyone was happy.

On the day of the wedding, I received a call from the man. His girlfriend was stopped from entering Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint that morning. I was overseas. I informed Andy about the hitch.

The wedding could not take place that Saturday.

Andy found out why she was barred from entering Singapore. The man was a pimp and she was his prostitute. And just the day before they were to solemnise their marriage, he pimped her.

The following week, the man came to the PAP Branch again. It was about half an hour before MPS officially started and Andy had not yet arrived. The man brought his mother along. As soon as she saw me, she rushed up towards me, knelt, wept and begged me to help her bring back her “daughter-in-law". I managed to persuade her to sit on a chair while I sorted things out. I spoke with the man. I asked: Are you going to continue with what you do and break your mother’s heart?

Later, the man gave Andy his word: That he would turn over a new leaf. But he was uneducated, without vocational skill, and would not be able to earn a living.

Andy said he would help. Andy found him a job as a stall assistant for a coffeeshop in Potong Pasir.

Eventually, the couple got married, and there was no longer any need for the man to come to the Branch.

A few years later, I saw the man again. He still worked as a hawker assistant, but this time, at a hawker centre.

And last weekend, our paths crossed again. At a different hawker centre.

I felt most gratified.

People come and people go at MPS. MPs and Branch Chairmen help thousands and thousands of people during their term in office. Many of these “helped” people are appreciative – even those whose appeals are unsuccessful – and they show it, with Thank You cards and personal visits to the Branch.

But do we – MPs, Branch Chairmen and Branch helpers – know for sure if what we do can help change the world?

This former pimp, who now “pang kopi” (serves coffee), is testimony of a positive impact of the PAP helpline: >