BOON TAT, CHAINED by his parents in their shuttered flat to prevent him from begging in the streets. Nine-year-old Swee Ying, well-known for her terrible temper tantrums, could take on the neighbourhood toughies and fight them fist for fist. Ravi, a mild mannered boy, could not read or write. He was thirteen.
These and other sadly neglected children lived in Bukit Ho Swee of the 1980s. The stories tell of these children who have lost part of their childhood in a world where they were unprotected and unloved.
Anne Lim, who worked for three years with these children of the street, brings you face to face with a reality which articulates a plea, not for pity, but for understanding.