The Singapore Democratic Party’s Bryan Lim recently posted about a resident who is allegedly not getting enough financial assistance from the Social Service Office (SSO).
Mr Abdullah is a Grabfood delivery rider and had met with an accident which injured his collar bone. He underwent surgery at a private hospital and is placed on MC until March next year. This means that he will not have income for 5 months.
He was constantly miserable for not being able to work as he has two children aged 2 and 3. His mother had to take a bank loan to pay off his hefty medical bills. Feeling out of options, he resorted to online gambling because he wanted to earn a quick buck. Unfortunately, he was scammed and lost even more money.
SDP’s Lim heard about his story and asked Singaporeans to contribute whatever they can. He highlighted Abdullah’s plight and how the SSO had only helped him for 3 months.
In fact, the Ministry for Social and Family Development responded that it has been providing Abdullah with financial assistance since 2018. The assistance stopped for a few months in late 2019 when he did not submit the required documents for the assistance to be renewed. It was eventually resumed in early 2020.
Abdullah may have had some assistance but found it insufficient due to his circumstances. With more attention on his story now, the Ministry has said that it will extend more help to him and cover the whole duration of his MC.
“The family has also been receiving additional financial support from MUIS, and other in-kind assistance from the Family Service Centre and Grassroots Organisations. Our SSO colleagues continue to work closely with our community partners to ensure the well-being of the family.”