MRS CHIA Swee Tin carries empty hongbao wherever she goes, but more for her work as a volunteer mediator than for auspicious purposes.
The 60-year-old volunteer told my paper they come in handy when she tries to make peace between two warring individuals.
As one of 138 volunteers attached to three community mediation centres islandwide, Mrs Chia has seen more than her fair share of disputes – all 170 of them, in fact.
She highlighted a case in which a taxi driver and a young man came to blows at a carpark over a parking dispute.
Incensed that his car had been scratched, the cabby hurled vulgarities at the man. The man became angry when the cabby mentioned his parents.
Cabbies driving by leapt into the fray and harsh words gave way to blows between the two.
The incident escalated into a complaint before the court.
The case was referred to a mediation centre and Mrs Chia was glad to note that after a two-hour session, it resulted in a happy ending.
The young man gave the cabby a token sum in a hongbao that Mrs Chia provided.
Referring to Greek philosopher Aristotle, Mrs Chia said:
“When the head is hurt, you’ll probably get a concussion. But when the heart is stabbed with hurtful words, it is fatal.”
That was the reason the former home-economics teacher felt it was more difficult to deal with conflicts which involved vulgarities and “emotional words”.
The disputes usually arise from unhappiness over cluttered corridors, dripping laundry and noise disturbance.
The centres are also handling more disputes over the years.
There were 684 cases last year, compared to 120 in 1998.
Over one in two cases involved sparring neighbours.
Last year, the centres successfully resolved about three in four disputes. This year, they have conducted 112 mediation sessions.
Mrs Chia told my paper:
“The beauty of mediation is that each party is given the safe opportunity to sit down and give his or her perspective without being slammed by the other. It is a therapeutic experience.”
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