September 01, 2022, 09:05 AM
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Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong weighed in on the incident of two national swimmers consuming cannabis overseas.
Facing up to their errors is the first step to rehabilitation
In a late night post on Aug. 31, Tong, who is also the second minister for law, said that both Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim have owned up to their mistakes and they know that they have let Singaporeans down as role models.
"It is a serious error of judgement, and not to be taken lightly," Tong said.
However, Tong recognised that the pair was contrite, took responsibility and apologised for what they had done.
Both Schooling and Lim had issued apologies for their actions on their Instagram Stories on Aug. 30.
Schooling said that he "demonstrated bad judgement" and "gave in to a moment of weakness after going through a very tough period of (his) life."
Lim said that she was "deeply sorry" for her actions and "there is no excuse" for it.
"Facing up to their errors is the first step to a proper rehabilitation," Tong added.
Cannot be fair-weather fans
Tong acknowledged the sacrifices and contribution that both Schooling and Lim have made, in order to bring glory to Singapore as our national swimmers.
In light of what happened, Tong urged the public to give the duo our empathy and understanding to help them bounce back from this "difficult" episode.
"I have said before -- we cannot be fair weather fans," Tong wrote on his social media.
Top image via Joseph Schooling/Facebook and Team Singapore/Facebook
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