Yang Kaiheng This post was written mainly for my prison friends who I’ve kept in contact with since coming out from prison. Thank you for the regular meet-ups and coffee session. And to the majority of my friends, who are not ex-cons, don’t be a dick like Ms Lena, CEO of Ministry of Food. ----------- For the first time in 5 years, I truly felt openly discriminated as an ex-con and I share here to encourage anyone facing discrimination: Don’t let it stop you. Try even harder to find your own success. The world is so big, you don’t need to be brought down by those who still insist on denying you opportunities in this day and age. When I submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to rent a unit and handed over a goodwill deposit cheque for $16,000 to the master tenant, Ministry of Food Pte Ltd (MOF) in December 2019, I was excited to be taking the first step in getting ready to open Takagi Ramen’s 5th Outlet in April this year. However, despite accepting the LOI and banking in my cheque, it turned out MOF was unable to give the terms requested in the LOI. (We had requested a fresh lease with the mall landlord, as the sublease from MOF would only last 1.5 years and would be void suddenly if MOF moved out). Since MOF couldn’t grant this, according to the LOI, MOF should have immediately refunded the goodwill deposit. But MOF delayed and dragged and repeatedly missed deadlines to refund the money. After 3 missed deadlines and over 3 weeks of waiting for the return of the goodwill deposit, I finally lodged a police report (attached below) and emailed Ms Lena Sim the CEO of MOF directly to again, more firmly, request the money be returned. Instead of simply refunding the deposit money which by this stage undisputedly, legally belongs to Takagi Ramen, Ms Sim penned a scathing email , digging up my case from 5 years ago and using it to label me, today, as a serial liar (full email attached below). She clearly suggested that ex-cons are incapable of changing and sent the email to the mall landlord, who also owns several other mall spaces that I am interested to expand to in the near future. Her email demonstrates her bias and disgust towards ex-cons and I can only hope that the mall landlord does not reject me from other leasing opportunities in their malls in the future due to Lena’s discriminatory email. While it is clear that Ms Lena Sim from Ministry of Food holds a highly discriminatory opinion of ex-cons and myself, my conscience is clear. I am running an honest business with Takagi Ramen. Everything I do today is to serve average Singaporeans. Takagi Ramen serves quality, thick Tonkotsu broth ramen from just $6.90NETT in an aircon setting and we absorb the GST. We run on low margins and work like crazy, serving over 500,000 bowls of ramen last year with less than 50 staff across our 4 outlets. We strive to serve our customers through affordable, quality food. We welcome ex-cons to join us and we share a significant portion (more than 10%) of our profits with our staff every month. We also make an effort to give back to society whenever possible. Even The Real Singapore was started with the naive purpose of promoting free speech. Its tagline Voices for the average Singaporeans meant specifically for those who can’t write eloquently and therefore feel silenced because they can’t share their thoughts on other media platforms. Contrary to the distorted picture the media painted of the website, TRS was not created to ‘stir hatred’. In fact, seditious tendencies were highlighted in just 7 of over 30,000 articles on the website. Nevertheless, I was naive to think that such an approach to free speech could work in Singapore, and I know that I definitely did not do a good job of controlling what the editors and writers posted. I'm apologize to those who were offended by the page in the past; fyi I already did my time in prison for pleading guilty to sedition charges. Digging up what happened with TRS over 5 years ago and suggesting that this is the same me today is simply not true. I’ve started TRS again, now as The Royal Singapore to share motivational and inspiring stories of average Singaporeans, to spread positivity and shine light on the good things happening around us. It’s true that ex-cons do face discrimination. When I read this scathing, hatred filled email written by someone who actually owes me money, it cuts deep and it was the first time I had experienced such discrimination so openly and so directly. Even though you know in the back of your mind that people quietly choose not to work with you, the hurt is so much worse when it is penned so clearly and in your face. I was just trying to get my goodwill deposit back but was slapped in the face with this instead, and to date, the money has still not been returned. At the end of the day, I have to remind myself that despite all the good work that Yellow Ribbon and other similar organisations are putting in, dealing with discrimination is simply another hurdle that ex-cons need to overcome to get back on track. To all my friends who I got to know in Prison, we should take such hurdles as positive challenges. Each hurdle we overcome is another testament to our determination to lead a better life. Don’t lose your way just because a few people put you down or label you for what you did in the past. You are certainly still entitled to your rights. As long as you persistently do good, eventually, good will come to you too. This quote helped me and I hope it can help you if you ever feel like the odds are stacked too high against you: “If you have been hurt and you still know how to smile, it’s proof that you are strong.”