On June 6, a Facebook post about an ex-convict in Singapore who had his security officer’s license application rejected, made the rounds on the internet:

The post, created by a member of the Singapore People’s Party, Jose Raymond, took issue not only with the rejection, but also the way the rejection was phrased -- the applicant was rejected on grounds of not being "a fit and proper person".

It now has over 1,200 shares and 200 comments.

MP Lim Biow Chuan responds via Facebook comment

After the post attracted significant attention, Mountbatten SMC MP Lim Biow Chuan responded to it.

His response, which was presented as a Facebook comment, came after a member of the public shared the original post by Raymond.

Here's a quick summary of it:

• He thinks it's easy to preach about second chances.
• He asks if a resident at a condominium would be comfortable with a security officer who has a criminal record — especially if the record is recent.
• He compares it to a child molester teaching swimming classes for children.
• There are other job options available, such as in the sales and F&B industry.
• The police reviews such cases after a period of time.
• The rejection could be better phrased, but the police were just giving a reason in accordance to the law (i.e. the term "fit and proper" is legalese).

Here is his response in full:

And a follow-up comment:

And here's some context about the case to fill you in:

• The ex-offender is apparently in his mid-thirties and has four young children.
• He was reportedly imprisoned for assaulting the man who accosted his wife.
• He was supposedly a former infantry regular.
• He cannot apply to be a taxi driver due to his record, and has been job-hunting for the past six months (he was released in 2016, according to Raymond).

Seems like the debate will continue for some time.

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Top image from Lim Biow Chuan and Jose Raymond's Facebook page