Thomas’s Story

Unlike many of us who have bittersweet memories of our younger days, some ex-offenders look upon their past with much disdain and regret.

Ex-offender Thomas Liao said, “I was a scum. I have no memory of doing anything good.” That was what he thinks of his teenage years as a gangster dabbling in all kinds of illegal activities. He was also addicted to drugs and peddling drugs to make more money to sustain his habit. At one point, he was earning $10,000 a month and had runners who would peddle drugs for him.

Coming from a broken family with divorced parents, he had a lonely and unhappy childhood. At 20 years old, he got caught for drug trafficking and received a 5.5-year sentence and 10 strokes of the canes. Considering all that Thomas went through from childhood to adolescence, it is no wonder that he comes across as a lot more mature than you would expect of someone his age. Now at 36 years old, he is happily married with a son. He has also found his vocation in social work.

Refocusing his energies

Since he came to know Christ while in prison, his life has turned around radically. He saw how wicked and damaging his past deeds were, and resolved to be in a helping profession as a way of paying back.

But his attitudes and aspirations changed radically as he grew in the faith. He would put his hand to the plough and work doggedly to achieve his goals. Wanting to be in a helping profession, he saw only 2 viable options before him－nursing or social work. He couldn’t go into other fields such as psychology or childhood education, as they required at least a B3 score in English, while Thomas’ English is so bad then that he couldn’t even construct a proper sentence.

Catching up on his studies where he left off as a Secondary 3 Normal (Technical) stream dropout, was an uphill task. But he was determined to make it through, and his hard work paid off. He eventually obtained both his N Level and O Level certificates during his years in prison. He also managed to obtain a C6 for his English upon a second try, which was quite a feat for a person who predominantly speaks Hokkien or Mandarin. For his academic progress, he was grateful for God’s enabling and for fellow inmates and teachers at Changi Prison School who cheered him on.

Catching up on his studies where he left off as a Secondary 3 Normal (Technical) stream dropout, was an uphill task. But he was determined to make it through, and his hard work paid off. He eventually obtained both his N Level and O Level certificates during his years in prison. He also managed to obtain a C6 for his English upon a second try, which was quite a feat for a person who predominantly speaks Hokkien or Mandarin. For his academic progress, he was grateful for God’s enabling and for fellow inmates and teachers at Changi Prison School who cheered him on.

Facing the real world

Inspired by an inmate friend who pursued social work upon his release, Thomas prayed about his own career direction and decided too to work towards becoming a social worker. He was 26 years old when he started attending Nanyang Polytechnic to get a diploma in social work.

Not wanting to burden his family with his education fees, he did many odd jobs to finance himself through school. His part-time stints exposed him to different work environments, including the zoo (where he worked as a photographer), World of Sports, Lady M , a Korean restaurant and even at the church, where he did cleaning work.

Thankfully, his lecturer who is a social worker, went out of her way to help him in get a sponsorship from the National Council of Social Services to offset the cost of his school fees. She wrote him a good testimony, helped him find resources and gave him leadership opportunities. 

To top it all of, the Lord also blessed him with a study sponsorship from Fei Yue, a well-established community service agency in Singapore, through the initiative of the National Council of Social Services. Fei Yue took a chance with Thomas, despite his criminal record. Their sponsorship came with a 2-year bond in social service, which was a good thing for him, as it meant the promise of a job upon graduation.

Working at Fei Yue for 7 years now, Thomas has since realised his dream of becoming a full-fledged social worker.

He is currently stationed at a Family Service Centre where he handles cradle-to-grave social issues faced by troubled families and individuals. His work exposed him to all kinds of people and situations. It opened his eyes to the struggles of others and expanded his worldview. As of 2023, Thomas is currently working at the Fei Yue Family Resource Centre.

He said, “I thought I was ‘very poor thing’, but I realised there are many people out there with higher mountains to conquer. For instance, I’ve met people who were abused, parents who were neglected, and a mother who sacrificed everything just to ensure that her children were fed. When you see others from chaotic family backgrounds who bounce back, you will learn a thing or two about resilience. I’ve learnt and grown a lot from being involved in the lives of the people I’ve helped.”

Giving back 

For Thomas, being able to journey with people through their difficulties is a privilege and very meaningful. “Where can you find a job where you can help others and get paid?,” he quips.

The help that he provides ranges from facilitating access to financial aid resources, linking people up with community partners who can help them, to counselling them. Due to the nature of his job, the demands of exceeded what his academic training has prepared him for. As an introvert, he had to learn to be more sociable and build up his interpersonal skills.

In his line of work, Thomas also deals with ex-offenders and their families. Some cases are quite challenging but being an ex-offender himself, he can understand how they feel. “The more people look down on them, the more they may react and behave in an antisocial way. But we will show them the positive effects of change. We can journey with ex-offenders, but we can’t change them. It is ultimately their choice and God’s work in their lives,” he said. 

His own transformation was thus. He still remembers being deeply touched by the testimonies of volunteers from different churches during the chapel services he attended when he was in prison. Just seeing the staff and volunteers from halfway houses and Prison Fellowship Singapore (PFS) devoting their weekends to spend time with prison inmates, spoke volumes to Thomas about the love of God. 

It made him want to do the same for current inmates. As a volunteer of PFS and The Hiding Place, he would tag along to help in counselling sessions and/or chapel services every now and then. During those times, Thomas would interact with the inmates, offer practical advise and point them to resources that they can access upon release. He would also encourage them not to go back to their old ways, share God’s Word and his testimony of life change.

For Thomas, coming to know God has made him realise how much he is loved and cherished as a person. Whatever his past sins and failings have been, God in His love, has embraced him. In the same way, this has enabled Thomas to now love and help other people. He said, “The Lord has caused me to see what life is about－that it is all about Him. He has given me the drive to live meaningfully and to continue doing so: building others up and be willing to surrender myself without needing to win all the time.”

In Thomas we witness yet another living testimony of Christ’s redeeming grace, by which he was led him out of the shadows of his guilt to peace with himself and God. Along with Thomas then, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles; and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)