Behind bars ...

Just met up with a friend recently who was thrown behind bars after getting caught for selling contraband cigarettes. I wasn't at all surprised this has happened to him as from young, he was exposed to many undesirable activities.

He wasn't someone who could study well and likely mixed with people from the secret societies. He visited back alley gambling dens which often resulted him to seeking illegals loans from syndicates to fire his bad habits - gambling.

This chap has got all the courage to do all the weird things which no normal person would do. He very often leaves Singapore to hide away from creditors seeking him and I would believe he would have had bad incidents which ended with blood and bruises.

Now that he has come out of jail, I hope he will be able to change his life and his ways. I am sure the period of 6 months behind bars would have allowed him to reflect on his wrong doings and bring him back on track to a clean world.

This will be a good time for me to see if the Yellow Ribbon project set up by the government would really help ex-convicts move on with life. Its sad to know that many ex-convicts out there find difficulty in settling down and finding a job. I am sure a handful of them do find the correct path but a bigger percentage of them might end up back there again as the society rejects them each time they try to lead a normal life.

To be continued ..... As my bus ride ends soon.Visit again should you want to read about life in prison all from the eyes of someone who's been there.