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WHEN her teenage son started using profanities in conversations, the single mother knew that something was amiss.
There were other tell-tale signs - he didn't keep to his midnight curfew and his clothes often reeked of cigarette smoke.
Then two weeks into the first semester of school, his teacher called to complain that the Secondary 1 boy had skipped school for a third time.
Madam Sally Tan, 33, a sales executive, told The New Paper in Mandarin: "Call it a mother's intuition or just my gut feel, but I knew he had gone astray.
"What I didn't know was the extent of the damage."
She chose not to call her only child's bluff when he claimed he did not go to school because he had overslept.
She confided in a colleague, who advised her to engage a private investigator. But Madam Tan, who earns $2,000 a month, could hardly afford the fees, which ranged from $1,500 upwards.
She was also worried about the legal implication if her 13-year-old son was found to be involved in illegal activities.
Madam Tan said: "It was then that I thought, why not tail him on my own?"
She approached her employer, who runs a customised gift business, to apply for leave.
Madam Tan said: "I also shared my intention with him and asked if I could continue to use the company car to facilitate movement."
Mr Jason Ng, 50, told The New Paper: "I agreed to it at once. As a father (of three teenagers), I could empathise with Sally's dilemma."
Madam Tan swung into action by pretending to leave home for work as usual.
