This piece of news showed how Singaporeans cared. Although the news tried to portray Singaporeans in a good light, I felt that being too generous in giving cash to "tissue sellers" can be a danger. It is like an addiction to these people. It won't take long for real "vultures" to swarm the place and set up begging scams. These vultures will have no qualms in recruiting children, amputees and people of certain criteria to fit in their only intention - GO FOR THE SPOILING. Hence, I strongly felt obliged to put my thoughts into this.
Start
Empower people don't condone begging! Being too generous in paying to
beggars will backfire in the worst long-term condition. Do realize the
danger of begging scams mushrooming, the kind that misuses children, or
amputees, or whatever creative method they can think of to elicit more
money. Disability don't place people as unable to earn an honest living.
We should give these people dignity (and equal opportunity) rather than
just sympathy and money. In Singapore it is illegal to beg and hence
beggars are seen "selling tissues". Having noticed an increase of these
people on the street, the government tried to put a stop to this trend
by suggesting the unpopular requirement for license to these people who
are "selling tissues". It didn't work. I hope someone from NUS or NTU
Social Sciences department will conduct a research on this topic and get
to the root of the problem and find a solution to this worrying trend.
However, it doesn't take an expert to understand that when there are
more generous people in the giving, there will be more people (scammers)
who will dive into begging. I still remember the previous presence of
"monks" asking for alms in currency ($). Luckily not a lot of us were
willing to give in to them and hence, we don't see a mushrooming of
these people.
Just a thought.
End.
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