Help a Son, Husband and Father support his family

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

This petition is filed by a group of GrabCar/Uber drivers on behalf of Mr Kee Hong Yong, Edwin.

He made some bad errors of judgement during his younger days and paid a heavy price for it, culminating in him being in and out of jail for many years.

Edwin is now married to a respectable lady and a recent father of 2 young and lovely kids, aged 1+ and 2+ years old. He is also the sole breadwinner of the family.

Since his last brush with the law, and the birth of his 2 lovely children, Edwin have realised the folly of his ways. A family and fatherhood has fueled his sense of responsibility and he made a vow to his wife to mend his ways, to detach himself from his past bad influences and to start afresh and work hard to give his wife and children a happy and comfortable life.

As many companies would not employ him due to his past, coupled with the needs to earn a living to support his young family, he started work as a private hire driver for companies such as GrabCar and Uber.

He even joined a group of fellow GrabCar/Uber drivers [the ones starting this petition] for moral and emotional support. The group is over 500-strong and those that interact with him on a daily basis can attest and testify on his behalf that Edwin is a changed man. He works very long hours, sometimes to the wee hours of the morning. He is responsible, friendly and always willing to lend a helping hand to others in need. All of us have nothing but positive things to say about Edwin's character and personality. He is indeed a changed man.

Recently, due to new laws to the industry, Private hire drivers are required to apply for a Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) to continue driving.

His application for a PDVL was rejected due to his past offenses. He is now facing the grim and bleak outcome of not being able to earn a stable income to provide for his young family, including his 2 infant children.

LTA have already stated on their website that appeals for such cases will be done on a case-by-case basis. - https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=9ce21079-6fb3-43d8-9c4d-e70a5b2db7a5

As his family members and friends, we are extremely concern for his well being and state of mind during these trying times. The biggest fear being that in his dire need to provide for his family, he will revert back to his old ways and fall into bad company again, in order to earn a living for his family.

I'm sure we all don't want that to happen.

Ever since he joined us, the group of us have gotten to know him well. We drive together. We take breaks and eat together. We share our joys and sorrows together. A strong friendship and bond binds us together. We can all attest that Edwin is by far one of, if not, the most hardworking and helpful person around. Whenever any of us is facing an issue – be it work or personal, he would be one of the first to step up to offer a helping hand. He is also one of the first to be out on the roads and last to call it a day, unless he has to tend to his 2 infant children, whom may require his attention from time to time.

He has been trying hard to appeal the rejection of his PDVL application, through various means. To date, all to no avail.

Time is not on his side. He has a family to support and young children to feed.

We have come to the conclusion that his best avenue for a successful appeal is to approach you, his nominated MP.

May we once again sincerely request for your kind assistance to help Mr Kee Hong Yong, Edwin retain his means of livelihood for his family and to give him another chance at life based on the mitigating factors highlighted, including the support from his family, relatives and fellow drivers [now friends] in this trade.

We shall end with a quote from one of our ex-Presidents, Mr S R Nathan - “Although they (ex-offenders) have made a mistake in life, they deserve a second chance. We all make mistakes; we all come out the better for it.”

For your kind consideration please.

Thank you