Current Affairs
Single-mother suffering from depression, asks CPF board not to mislead public and questions its intention to name her
The 45-year-old single-mother who was featured in a TOC report on Wednesday, took to Central Provident Funds (CPF) Board’s Facebook page after it published a clarification statement on her case, asking that the board not to mislead readers with its statement made on Thursday evening.
Ms Sua, who was identified as Ms Soo and now publicly named by the CPF Board on its Facebook page, had sought President Halimah’s help to release her CPF Funds from Medisave and Special Accounts so that it can be used to help her financially as she had exhausted all her savings after being unemployed for the last three years due to her medical condition.
She suffers from Systemic Lupus Erythemathosus (SLE), or also known as lupus since 2011. SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. There is no cure for SLE.
She shared that she has exhausted all means of obtaining financial assistance, such as withdrawing all the funds in her insurance policies, short of terminating them.
Her application was unsuccessful as CPF Board requested a medical certificate from her doctor to say that she is permanently unfit to work.
In its statement on 19 Dec, the CPF Board wrote:
You may have come across an online article by The Online Citizen (TOC) on Ms Sua Li Li (identified as “Ms Soo”). TOC omitted to mention that several government agencies are actively supporting Ms Sua, which Shin Min Daily News reported on 5 Dec 2019.
In 2011, Ms Sua was admitted to NUH for suspected lupus. NUH advised her repeatedly that further investigations were necessary for a proper diagnosis. Ms Sua rejected medical advice and insisted on being discharged. NUH tried to arrange for follow-up appointments but was unsuccessful.
Since Nov 2019, Ms Sua has been visiting Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH). On evaluation of her circumstances, KTPH’s medical social worker informed Ms Sua that all her medical expenses at KTPH will be fully covered using MediFund.
From 19 Nov 2019, CPFB was unable to contact Ms Sua until she returned from her overseas trip. It has since advised Ms Sua that her appeal to withdraw her CPF on medical grounds will be re-assessed once her doctor is able to certify that she meets the medical criteria.
Ms Sua has a daughter pursuing a diploma at Singapore Polytechnic. She receives government bursaries which cover her annual course fees fully and some of her living expenses. If she pursues an undergraduate education in a publicly-funded university in future, she will also be eligible for a range of financial assistance schemes.
Upon receiving an appeal from Ms Sua’s MP, HDB has been advising her on options to manage her housing instalments. These include renting out the spare bedroom in her 4-room flat or right-sizing to a smaller flat. HDB will continue to assist her.
Ms Sua was previously not eligible for ComCare assistance because she had savings to tap on. Following her recent visit to the Social Service Office (SSO) at Yishun, her request for financial assistance is being reviewed. The SSO will ensure she has the means to cope with daily expenses and has also offered to link her up with a Family Service Centre for emotional support.
In the meantime, grassroots volunteers have also visited Ms Sua to render support.
Following CPF’s posting, Ms Sua rebutted its statement in the comment section, asking the CPF Board not to mislead readers.
She pointed out that she had discharged herself from NUH in December 2011. She claims that the panel of specialists almost killed her with their various tests and experiments.
She also claims that she nearly died of a heart attack in NUH and suffered serious allergic reactions due to the contrast that they forcefully injected during MRI even though I protested and told them I am allergic.
“My left forearm was swollen as a result for three months and I could not walk, eat or sleep. Hence I decided to discharge myself from NUH.”
She alleged that she had written to the Singapore Medical Association to lodge a complaint but her complaint was never entertained.
“If you need further facts I would appreciate if you can approach me directly instead of posting half-baked stories about me. Thank you.” wrote Ms Sua
What was the intention of the CPF Board’s Facebook posting
Ms Sua also wrote to CPF Board via email, asking if it had the right to publish her full name on its Facebook post.
She asked, “Do you have the right to do that? The newspaper and online articles did not publish my real name at my request. I demand an explanation. What is your intention? Does asking for help in times of dire need means exposing my identity and become a target for possible cyber bullying?”
“I meant to remain anonymous, not become the talk of the town. I am depressed enough as it is in view of my current situation. What you did has pushed me over the edge. Are you forcing me to jump out of my window? I live on the 8th floor by the way.” wrote Ms Sua.
This is not the first “clarification statement” that the CPF Board has published in regards to its CPF members. Over the past months, it has been publicly naming CPF members who had taken to social media to voice their grievances about their CPF monies.
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