Great Leap Forward.
Leave a comment
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/04/2-singapore-men-committed-suicide-on-3-march-2010-due-to-financial-distress/
Written by Our Correspondent
According to Shin Min Daily yesterday, two Singapore men committed suicide on the same day by jumping off their flats.
The first suicide victim is a taxi-driver by the name of Mr Lim who jumped from his 15 storey kitchen windows at Taman Jurong.
He had lived with his wife and children in the HDB unit where the suicide occurred.
Neighbors described him as slightly plump and friendly to his neighbors.
It was reported that he was under alot of stress due to financial difficulties.
The second victim is a 30 year old Mr Quan who leapt off from 14 storey at a HDB flat at Holland Drive to his death.
He was wearing a white shirt and blue short pants when this tragedy took place.
It is suspected that financial reasons may be a cause too.
Despite being Asia’s second richest country after Japan, Singapore has few social welfare benefits for its citizens though it is able to lose billions of dollars of its reserves in failed overseas investments.
The competition has worsened lately with the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore who depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
Foreigners are allowed to compete directly with Singaporeans for jobs and there are no minimum wage or retrenchment benefits for local workers.
Singapore’s octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew said during an interview with the National Geographic magazine that it is a “good thing” tha the nation has welcomed so many Chinese immigrants as they are more “hard-driving” and “hard-striving” than locals.
For those Singaporeans who have fallen too far behind in the rat-race as they are not hard-driving enough, suicide may remain the last resort for them.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[/QUOTE]
