“O$P$” kids
Name: Lim Shi Wei
Class: 3A
Register No.: 15

Title: English Social Commentary
O$P$ Kids


Imagine for a moment. A group of teenagers, ranging from 12-15, including both girls and boys, writing words and they are splashing paint all over a house. What do you think they are doing? No, they are indeed not attending an art class, but instead helping loan shark syndicates to collect their debts. It might even look comical than intimidating as you see a small kid, aged 12, at your doorstep. However, this is indeed a tragic sight for most parents to see; having to see a child with bright future being destroyed by a foolish act.

Just a few months ago, I had recently seen a group of loan sharks spraying paint on one of my neighbor’s houses. Surprisingly, the loan sharks came at daytime, and they did it quietly and stealthily. Their methods are simple: Spray paint over the gate of the house and write the words “O$P$” all over the block with the unit number to embarrass the family. Having a chat with them, I found out that they actually spotted a group of teenagers loitering around the lift area in the afternoon but did not really mind them at first. But only having to find their gate splashed with paint in the evening, they realized what these boys might have done.

In my opinion, this is indeed a tragic truth for most parents.

Firstly, these young children have a bright future ahead, but are misled by their friends into such foolish acts. According to the article, children as young as 12 to 19 years of age, were caught. In 2007, 59 youths were caught and in this year, surveys made by Channel NewsAsia, according to mid-year crime statistics, out of 417 people arrested, 81 were youths, compared to 21 in the same period last year. To our surprise, girls were even part of the statistics given. This is an alarming increase, with a 400 percent increase. Imagine the number of youths who will get criminal records just out of a moment of folly. Having a criminal record, doesn’t really mean a scar for life, however, it will drastically decrease the opportunities given. For example, having a criminal record means you might have problems being a banker or jobs that require trust. One would not really tend to hire someone who has a criminal record. Thus, if a teenager out of folly went to do such things, it would indeed diminish their portfolio when entering society.

Secondly, the number of teenagers joining gangs and helping loan sharks syndicate might indicate a sign that parents are not really communicating well with their child. According to the police, there are about 2242 youth offenders caught for petty offences. This is sign that offenders are usually persuaded by gangsters or when they join gangs to commit crimes as to show their bravery and one of these acts are collecting debts. One of the main reasons why the teenagers turn to gang members is because they are either too scared to face their parents after doing a wrong doing, or they are not communicating well with their parents. Some of them get into gambling debts with their friends or with loan sharks and do not have the ability to pay what they owe. Thus, they are forced to help to collect debts for loan shark to pay off their debts. For example, according to the article, a teenage boy was introduced to this job as he had to pay off his $800 debt due to soccer betting.

However, it might be such a tragic truth after all. All these children have been under probation after being caught, and they might turn over a new leaf. Being caught by the police might be a good thing as they would realize their mistake Instead of continuing on with their wrong doings for life, projects such as the yellow ribbon project has been set up to help ex-offenders such as the teenagers to get back to society. The yellow project in Singapore has distributed over 320,000 yellow ribbons island wide to symbolize the ex-offender’s hope for forgiveness as well as acceptance into society.

In conclusion, loan shark syndicates of using teenagers to become runners are a depressing truth for most of us. Although projects such as the yellow ribbon project have been set up, prevention is better than cure. We would rather much try to prevent these from happening rather than waiting to let it happen and then try to help those kids. However, if parents try to communicate more with youths, and with youths also playing their part, this tragic truth might not be that tragic after all!