S'pore taxi driver, 45, on hitting police car & crowdfunding after quitting product manager job, losing S$95,000 in savings & battling anxiety

A taxi driver in Singapore set up a fundraiser in September 2026 to appeal for donations following an accident with a police car.

While there have been donations, some were sceptical and unsympathetic.

The negativity stemmed from the fact that it was the 45-year-old driver's third fundraiser.

In Travis Gideon Wong's own words, many were questioning why he was asking for "handouts" instead of working his way out of his situation.

Wong told Mothership that his fundraising campaign only covered a part of the story — a story that began with his battle with anxiety disorder.

Quit his job

In 2023, Wong left his job as a product manager after struggling with anxiety.

"I started to have these insane thoughts about really doing the unthinkable," Wong said.

This was exacerbated by the situation and workload at work, which added to the stress and anxiety he was facing.

When he proposed to his company to take a break, he was instead given the option to either resign or be demoted.

Wong ultimately chose to resign, thinking that it was important for him to get better first.

There were also no promises that he would get back his original role if he were to get demoted.

He then checked himself into the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where he was formally diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and prescribed medication for the condition.

Describing his state of mind then, Wong said his thoughts started to really overwhelm him.

"When you have an anxiety disorder, your mind just doesn't stop. Your thoughts just build on and on," he said.

He candidly admitted that he might have done the "unthinkable" if not for his family.

The father of two had to figure out a way to continue providing for them even at his lowest point.

Sold the house

Following his resignation, Wong decided to take up freelance project management jobs as a personal business.

This, however, did not earn him as much as his previous six-figure job.

From 2024 to 2025, Wong said he was "bleeding money" and needed to think of something to ease his family's financial situation.

At the same time, he was still struggling with his mental health.

In a "conscious effort" to take care of himself, Wong said he decided to sell his house to use the proceeds as a "cushion".

This would allow him to slow down and recover better, while giving him time to think about how to improve his business, he said.

Unfortunately, it was during this period that he was allegedly scammed out of his entire life savings.

Lost S$95,000 in investment

Wong met a woman during a webinar she had advertised on LinkedIn.

He knew her as the chief executive officer (CEO) of a business leadership training consultancy who would often give advice on how to run his business.

While they never met in real life, they often had one-on-one calls to talk about their businesses.

After Wong sold his house, the woman apparently reached out to him in August 2025 asking if he would consider investing in her company.

The arrangement was for Wong to get a monthly payout with interest of about 10 to 15 per cent over two years after the initial lump sum investment of S$95,000.

"We did our due diligence. We actually reached out to a couple of people just to see whether this person is legit. Despite the fact that I knew her personally for a couple of years," Wong said.

After about a month, Wong and his wife decided that they felt comfortable to invest.

They transferred S$75,000 at the end of September in 2025, and subsequently, another S$20,000.

However, the woman allegedly did not keep her promise.

As of September 2026, Wong has not received a single payout.

A police report has since been lodged.

Became a cabbie

Faced with the sudden loss of his savings and mounting bills, including house rent, Wong decided to start a fundraiser upon a friend's recommendation.

He managed to raise about S$12,000, enabling him to tide the family through the year.

Wong also quickly started looking for other ways to earn an income.

Of all the options he explored, becoming a cabbie was the only one that materialised.

By March 2026, he started his journey as a taxi driver.

Calculating his family expenses, house rent, and various other bills, he concluded that he needed to drive 15 hours daily to make ends meet and have some savings.

That's every day of the week, with no breaks on the weekend.

All those hours on the road eventually harmed his body.

"My body started to react very badly to it. And then when my physical health suffers, my mental health also suffers, because there's the stress of trying to make ends meet," he said.

Following a break of two weeks for his health, Wong then launched another fundraiser campaign in June 2026 seeking help in paying his rent.

"A lot of people were a lot more hesitant at that point; I kind of understood. Like there's only so much help you can get," he admitted.

Even so, he managed to raise enough to cover his rent that month.

And the grind continued.

That is, until he encountered another spanner in the works.

Car accident

In early August 2026, Wong was involved in an accident with a traffic police patrol car.

Photos of the crash circulated online, and Wong said he was "made a joke" by online commenters.

Wong explained how the incident apparently occurred.

He was in the first lane of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) when he noticed the police car behind with the siren on.

Thinking they were in a hurry, Wong filtered left to lane two, making way for the police car.

Afterwards, he decided to switch back to lane one, while checking the blind spot.

In that moment, Wong said he did not notice that the police car had made an emergency stop.

"And the moment that happened, I had no time to react, and the next thing I knew, I just crashed into it," he said.

The impact of the accident aggravated two pre-existing conditions he had been managing for years.

This included two herniated discs in his neck and two herniated discs in his lower back.

To Wong, this meant weeks of pain, visits to the doctor, as well as a loss of income as he was not able to immediately return to work driving a taxi.

At the encouragement of some friends, he decided to set up his latest fundraiser in September 2026.

"I was really hesitant to be honest," he said.

But since the accident, bills have been piling up, such as his house rental, vehicle costs, and ongoing treatment.

He decided to appeal for support to help "bridge the gap" while his body catches up.

A total of S$1,615 has been raised as of writing.

Driving out of his situation

For Wong, apart from the accident, driving was a kind of sanctuary.

"I didn't realise I loved driving until I started driving in this manner," he shared.

Being alone in his car was vastly different from the busy corporate lifestyle he was used to for 20 years.

"When you drive, you are there all the time, and I know a lot of people don't like being in those situations. But for me,  I realised that I could be in that situation and not lose momentum," he said.

Wong shared that during his usual 15-hour drives, he preferred not taking a long break, partly because he doesn't feel tired, and partly because he does not want to break his focus.

"I don't feel tired. I'm always focused. I'm very comfortable in my car, I can listen to music the whole day," he said.

It also unexpectedly helps with his anxiety disorder.

The moment he enters the car, his overwhelming thoughts disappear, and he just focuses on the road.

But Wong admitted that after he's done with driving for the day, reality washes over.

"Now you are suddenly made aware of your own situation again," he said.

The worst struggle of his anxiety is when he wakes up in the morning with thoughts of doubt.

He would keep telling himself: "What's the point? Your back and your neck are hurting so much. You know you won't be able to earn enough. What's the point of like being in this world and doing all this?"

Regardless, Wong wakes up every day and pushes himself to get back on his feet.

Once he gets in his car and gets ready to drive, all his negative thoughts disappear as concentration takes over.

Wong said he focuses on what's ahead on the road, making sure that passengers are safe, and making sure that they are having a good experience.

He is also taking daily medication for his anxiety, which he said helps a lot as well.

Now, Wong is gradually getting back on the road and returning to work as a taxi driver.

"My ambition is to drive out of the situation so that I can consider building my business little bit by little bit again. And then from there, get out of my situation a lot better," he said.