Love is all kids need to succeed: former gangster

WRITER, freelance gym instructor and former gangster Joshua Foo believes that parents play a pivotal role in the development of their children's character.

"In the future, how well you behave and how you project yourself in public, it pretty much shows your background, where you came from and how your parents brought you up," he said, setting aside the loud gold watch he wore on his left wrist as if to rid himself of a source of distraction.

When he was a child, Foo lacked parental attention: his father was in jail serving time for peddling illegal narcotics; his mother was busy working to make ends meet.

Foo thus looked outside the home for attention, and got more than he bargained for. At 13 years of age, he joined his first gang and committed his first crime: a gang robbery at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It was all downhill after that.

His experience as a young gangster stood him in good stead to provide insights into how the underworld operates, particularly salient following the recent arrest of students for distributing name cards and pamphlets advertising illegal moneylending services.

Last month, 85 students were arrested, 60 of whom were under the age of 16 and two were 12-year-old primary-school pupils.

The police said in a statement: "This case highlights a worrying trend of loan-shark syndicates infiltrating schools and recruiting students to work for them."

The trend appears to be on the rise, with 62 young people arrested for loan-shark and related harassment activities so far this year.

He explained: "Let's be honest: I think all of these children, they have enough pocket money. Maybe the reason they want to earn a little bit more money is just to buy all these branded stuff nowadays."

"It doesn't need to be money or luxurious stuff, you just need to shower him with attention, so that he knows that come what may, you will definitely be there for him."

For him, attention came not from his parents, but from his maternal grandparents, particularly his grandmother, who "taught me everything that I know in life", Foo said.

"She also taught me origami, and it was through origami that I learnt to be patient in life; you know, not to whine, not to complain, but accept things for what they are and deal with them," he added.

His recently published book chronicling the story of his life is dedicated to his beloved grandparents. Apart from those of himself and his grandparents, the names of other characters in the book had been made up, even though the events were real.

Foo started on his book because of an argument he had in 2009 with a missing figure in his life - his father.

"I decided to write the book to show my father who I am and what I had been through and what I had seen, what I had felt and to let him accept me for who I am," he explained.

Foo is glad to have completed the book, as the book improved his relationship with his father.

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