Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Yeo, helps kid with stolen laptop via facebook

The new media is changing the way we communicate with our leaders. Check out this facebook post on Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Yeo’s profile page:

A boy called Om Wen Jie left a comment on George’s facebook wall as follows:

Dear Minister, I am a student staying in Hougang Ave 10. On 31 Aug 09, due to negligence, my new laptop which is only used for a month was stolen from the windows near the common corridor. The 18-yr-old thief was caught on 9 Sep 09, but it was known …from the police that the thief has hidden the laptop some where after he stole it, and when he went back, the laptop was gone. This was obviously a lie. The police said “we can’t help you.” If the police can’t help us even if the thief is caught, who can help us? My mum also called another officer who came to our house for investigation on 31 Aug, and he said he “didn’t know the thief was caught.” Is there any way to recover my laptop or to get the thief to compensate me? The laptop costs near $2000 which is my father’s hard-earned money. It was my first laptop and is very significant to me especially for use in my studies. Thank you.

George actually made the effort to reply to the obviously distressed little boy.  That’s a really nice gesture. I am not sure what were the follow-up actions after the boy emailed him, but it’s heartening to see one of our ministers responding on an online social environment.

Technorati Tags: george yeo, singapore minister for foreign affairs, george yeo facebook, lost laptop, om wen jie, hougang, george yeo lost laptop, singapore minister, minster on facebook, politics on facebook, george yeo facebook profile, minster george yeo