Episode 6: The Contract

A piece of paper dated June 1958 is a constant reminder to Mr. Tan Jun Ming that he was sold by his parents for $700 – several months' wages in those days.

Mr. Tan Jun Ming was bought by a foster mother as "insurance", hoping for a care-giver in her old age. As a boy, Jun Ming was stripped and chained to the bed for being naughty. Ill-treated and unloved, Jun Ming was still able to rise above it all.

A piece of paper dated June 1958 is a constant reminder to Mr. Tan Jun Ming that he was sold by his parents for $700 - several months' wages in those days.

His foster mother had had several miscarriages and bought three children as insurance, in the hope that at least one would take care of her in her old age. His foster father died several years later.

When he was 18, he saw his birth certificate for the first time. From the information, he traced his natural parents. But their reunion was an anti-climax with neither warmth nor tears. They did not even explain why he was sold.

Despite his mistreatment, he could not bear to abandon his foster mother and took care of her until she died aged 93. His past makes him strive to be a good parent and has inspired him to be a voluntary probation officer for juvenile delinquents, something he has been doing for the past 16 years.