Scheme marks 4 years of helping ex-inmates stay on the right path

It aims to foster a sense of community through regular sharing sessions

- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof

He had been on the inside as an inmate, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for drug trafficking. But Mr Andrew Joseph Ng, who was released in 2023, said he could feel the anxiety while trying to assimilate after he returned to society a free man.

His stress came from not knowing things like QR codes or that cashless payments are now preferred over cash.

"I felt like the dumbest person on earth when a staff member at a cake shop asked me to make a cashless payment over the counter," said Mr Ng, who was heavily involved in the development and design of the Empatherapy Programme in the Singapore Prison Service (SPS).

While his story of life after his release may sound trivial, the plight of other inmates who lack support or the know-how to handle issues such as family matters, finding a job or leaving past connections with gangs may result in recidivism.

The recidivism rate among inmates of drug rehabilitation centres (DRCs) within two years of release is at its highest since 2015.

SPS statistics released on Feb 11 show that the two-year recidivism rate of DRC inmates from the 2022 release cohort is 30.8 per cent.

This is higher than the overall rate of 21.3 per cent, which includes all local inmates who were detained, sentenced to jail, or given a day reporting order within two years of their release.

The overall two-year recidivism rate, which fell from 22 per cent the year before, remains low and stable.