'We want to give back to society': Ex-convicts buy, hand out groceries to needy residents
A group of volunteers, including ex-convicts, during a charity event at North Bridge Road on April 17, 2022.
SINGAPORE — He was part of a group of young men who made headlines in 2010 for going on a gang-related slashing rampage in Bukit Panjang, which landed several other youths in hospital.
Now, Mr Mohd Firdaus Abdul Rahim wants to give back to the society he had wronged more than a decade ago.
Along with other ex-convicts, the 36-year-old gathered near rental blocks along North Bridge Road on Sunday (April 17) afternoon, where they went door-to-door and handed out about 100 red plastic bags — stuffed with groceries and essential items — to residents.
Mr Firdaus, who was released from the Criminal Law Detainee scheme in November 2020 and now works for e-retailer Lazada, recently joined his friend Johari Mohd Salleh’s efforts to give back to the community.
Mr Johari, 27, came up with the initiative late last year and has since roped in about 30 ex-convicts, many of whom also currently live or used to live at the North Bridge Road public housing estate.
