Every day, hundreds of thousands of passengers take the MRT, traversing across the island for work, school and leisure. The spate of disruptions and incidents, which the operators and authorities are looking to resolve, and the inconvenience caused to commuters, have brought into focus how the rail network has become a big part of our lives. So, too, are the countless faces we meet on the subway, some growing familiar over time and each with a story to tell.

In our Faces on the Subway weekly series, we speak to commuters who start their day while it is still dark, or call it a night when others are already fast asleep — people on the first or last train.

SINGAPORE — Two years ago, all Mr Sergio da Cunha knew about Singapore were its "weird laws", such as having to pay a fine if caught eating and drinking on trains, and the ban on the sale of chewing gum here.

These gave the 26-year-old Brazilian some jitters while he was preparing to further his studies here.

"I thought people here would be very strict and serious," he said, but contrary to his expectations, the Singaporeans he has met have been "very friendly and easy to approach".

However, there are moments when he himself turns cautious, having seen his friend fall prey to phone scams. Coming from crime-prone Rio de Janeiro, he has been conditioned to always be on his guard as well.

When TODAY approached Mr da Cunha on the last train towards Bartley station on the Circle Line, he decided to play safe and gave a contact number that was not in use, even though he received the reporter’s namecard.

“Back in Brazil, my friend got a call one day from a stranger, saying his girlfriend had been kidnapped. It came at a time when she could not be reached to verify if what the caller said was true. My friend ended up transferring a huge sum (amounting to about S$1,000) to bank accounts, before we managed to confirm that his girlfriend was not involved in any alleged kidnap.

“So when you asked... I thought it could be somebody trying to prepare a scam like this… I’m very sorry,” he said.

Perhaps, it was also the Agatha Christie crime novel he was reading on the train that heightened his senses.

TODAY ended up having to do some “detective” work and tracked him down for a follow-up interview, through a visiting professor who works with him on a project.

Since August 2016, Mr da Cunha has been on a master's degree programme at the chemical engineering department of the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also a teaching assistant there.

Every weekday, he spends about 11 hours till past 11pm working on a project about formic acid, which is used in leather processing and in fixing tanning agents.  

He hopes his research could go some way in reducing the cost of producing leather products, and his longterm goal is to be a researcher in the chemicals industry.

“It’s a broad field, but there are always industrial applications… I really like doing research, so I think this is a natural path for me,” he said.

Just before coming to Singapore, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Ecole Polytechnique in France. His school fees here are waived because of a partnership between NUS and Ecole Polytechnique.

His parents, who are divorced, finance the bulk of his living expenses here.

MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

On weekends, Mr da Cunha spends much of his time with his girlfriend, Miss Fu Yu, a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident, who is also one of five people sharing an apartment with him.

Living in close proximity, it was not hard to ask her out, to go to “restaurants and to the beach at Sentosa together”.

“Before I realised, we were already dating… I guess this would be one of the most memorable things that has happened to me in Singapore,” he said of finding someone to love.

Miss Fu, also 26, was an undergraduate at the Singapore Management University before starting work as a business analyst. Her hometown is in Wenzhou, an industrial city in south-eastern China.

The couple enjoys travelling and watching TV shows together. Fantasy drama Game of Thrones and detective series Sherlock Holmes are among their favourite Netflix titles.

After completing his master’s thesis in July, Mr da Cunha will be leaving Singapore to pursue a doctorate in France, and Miss Fu plans to accompany him. The couple have even talked about getting married within the next 10 years, and Mr da Cunha aims to learn to speak Mandarin before their big day comes around.

“I've tried to learn (the language), but it's too hard for me! I used to study it using a mobile app, but quit after some time… I'll give it another shot, more seriously after my master’s and learn as much as I can before I go meet the rest of her family,” he said.

Mr da Cunha, who is well-versed in Portuguese and French, said that speaking English was also a challenge when he first arrived in Singapore.

“I didn’t do enough preparation, but my English has improved by leaps and bounds since (coming here). I don’t think I could have had this conversation with you a year ago,” he said.

SINGAPORE’S CLOCKWORK EFFICIENCY

With three months left before his departure, Mr da Cunha said that he will miss Singapore most for its efficiency. While commuters here grumble about train service disruptions, he considers transport in Singapore to be one of the most efficient among the countries he has lived and visited.

“Trains in France are much older, and maybe because of that, there are accidents and works being done on the train line. Several times a week, train services are interrupted at some point.

“And compared with Brazil, it is a thousand times better here in Singapore. In Brazil, we don’t even have a schedule for buses. They just come and go as they want,” he said with a laugh.

He is also struck by the proficiency of hospital administrators and the convenience of electronic payments here.

“These little things make our lives more efficient. (Singaporeans) may not see it because you are already used to it, but if you are in a country where you have to queue for everything, and everything is so inefficient… Really, how people (here are) so efficient at providing services is very impressive,” he said.

Still, there are many things he misses about his hometown, having been away for many years.

"I definitely miss my family and the friends I grew up with," he said, adding that he has four half-siblings.

"Breathtaking beach views" is another thing in Rio that cannot be found in Singapore, he said. "You have Sentosa, but it's not the same."

However, with the economic crisis at home, he is not in a hurry to return to Rio for now.

"After my PhD, I might go where there are more employment opportunities, like in Europe, or come back to Singapore. We will see.”