Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS) is dedicated to providing confidential emotional support to individuals facing a crisis, thinking about or affected by suicide.
Non-religious and not for profit, our work focuses on crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
A state of hopelessness and despair due to overwhelming life circumstances.
A deliberate and voluntary act of taking one’s own life. A person may contemplate suicide when the crisis they are facing exceeds their ability to cope emotionally.
An external coping resource provided through compassion, empathy, and genuine concern. This is the first step in helping someone out of a crisis and hence reducing their risk of suicide.
Unique Entity Number (UEN): 202245684D
IPC status validity till: 1 March 2025
To be the premier organisation in suicide prevention
To be an available lifeline to anyone in crisis
Respect
Accountability
Confidentiality
Collaboration
Over the next 5 years, SOS will be focusing our efforts on three key areas
Senior Vice-President, Citibank N.A. Singapore
Roel has over 30 years of experience working in financial services, information technology and telecoms. He currently works for Citi as a Regulatory Interaction analyst based in Singapore. Before that, Roel was with Ericsson in various leadership positions across Asia and Europe. He is also the Chairperson of the Projects and Services Committee. He was a volunteer with Befrienders in Malaysia for five years.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 23 December 2022
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 7/8
Mr Tan Kwang Cheak is the CEO-designate for the Singapore Cancer Society from 7 October 2024 onwards and will take on the CEO role from 17 February 2025. He has spent over two and a half decades in the public, private and non-profit sectors in Singapore. He first spent more than ten years in the Singapore Administrative Service, serving in various leadership appointments in the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Manpower and JTC Corporation. He was subsequently the Senior Director for Operations, Business Planning and Human Resources in McDonald’s Singapore, Director for Human Resources and Talent Development in MOH Holdings Pte Ltd, as well as, the Chief Human Resources Officer in NTUC Fairprice Cooperative Ltd.
Kwang Cheak was previously the Chief Executive Officer for the Agency for Integrated Care under the Singapore Ministry of Health. He has also served on various national and Ministry level committees and councils. He is also a certified Institute of HR Professionals (IHRP) Master Professional, the pinnacle recognition for top HR leaders in Singapore.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 01 April 2024
Finance Consultant, Marex
Michael brings over 25 years of financial expertise to SOS. Currently a finance consultant at Marex, his career includes 20 years at Deutsche Bank, where he rose to APAC Finance Director for Treasury.
Michael contributes his strong accounting and financial control skill set to SOS. Outside of SOS, he also volunteers with Radin Mas CC delivering meals and checking on the wellbeing of elderly residents.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 21 August 2024
Senior Consultant, BME Services
Chris is a Senior Consultant at BME Services and Founder of The Lighthouse Coaching. Prior to that, he has been in senior management roles in the advertising, communication and marketing industry, taking on a range of international leadership positions with various companies including TBWA Worldwide as one of its Worldwide Managing Directors.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 01 December 2023
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 3/3
Chief Human Resource Officer, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital & Yishun Health
Cynthia has more than 30 years of HR delivery experience supporting organisation growth and transformation. This includes the banking, manufacturing, retail and trading as well as the public sector. She is currently serving as a Chief Human Resource Officer, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital & Yishun Health.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 01 January 2024
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 2/2
Adjunct Professor, Singapore Management University
Francis lectures in Business, Government and Society and provides different perspectives to the Board with his extensive experience in academia. Before joining SMU, he lectured in NUS for more than 20 years, teaching a range of subjects from Statistics to Accounting. He was also a Committee Member in the NUS Society, and volunteers as a senior guide at the Science Centre. He was on the SOS Board in the 90’s before and has stepped up again to serve.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 23 March 2023
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 6/8
Dr Jared Ng is a psychiatrist and senior consultant in private practice. He was the founding chief of the Department of Emergency and Crisis Care at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). Prior to IMH, he served as a military psychiatrist for the Singapore Armed Forces. Dr. Ng holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, focusing on health and social behaviour. He teaches at NTU and LKC School of Medicine and volunteers with several organisations such as Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore International Foundation, Care Corner and the IJ Schools Board of Management. His interests include the public health approaches to mental health and suicide prevention.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 21 August 2024
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, NUS
Mariam is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, with more than 25 years’ experience in providing professional advice and consultancy to educational institutions, social service agencies and families in Singapore. She is actively involved in several social service organisations in Singapore, including the National Council of Social Services, and is concurrently a Research Associate with the University College London (UCL), and an adjunct associate professor in Psychology Dept of National University Singapore and Office of Education Research in National Institute of Education, NTU.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 15 May 2023
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 5/7
Director, Family Support Division Family Development Group Director, Professional Practice Development Office of the Director-General of Social Welfare Senior Lecturer, Social Work SR Nathan School of Human Development
Ms Ng began her social work career as a counsellor with the SAF Counselling Center, and completed her Masters in Social Work. Following which, she worked with Yup’ik Eskimo communities in Alaska as a school social worker. She was involved in policy work at the Rehabilitation and Protection Division, appointed Chief Probation Officer at Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), and became the Director-General of Social Welfare in 2012. She’s taken on roles such as the Director of Central Youth Guidance and teaching in SUSS, and now works in the Family Support Division.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 23 March 2023
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 7/8
Chief Executive Officer, Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd
Geok Chwee has more than 25 years of experience in the information communications industry. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd. Before that, Geok Chwee was with Starhub and Singtel in various leadership positions. She is also the Chairperson of the IT Committee and is also on the Board of the Society for the Aged Sick.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 01 December 2023
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 3/3
Operations Finance Director, L’Oreal Singapore PTE LTD
Sharon was co-opted to the SOS Board in 2019 and was appointed as the Honorary Treasurer in 2020, filling a critical position with her professional competence and experience in finance. Prior to joining L’Oreal she was APAC CFO at JUUL Labs and has over twenty years of experience in the various corporate finance and accounting capacities that she has undertaken. Beyond her contributions to SOS, she had also volunteered her time at AWARE and Aidha.
Date Appointed in Samaritans of Singapore Limited’s Board of Directors: 23 December 2022
Board Meeting Attendance (FY23/24): 8/8
Gasper Tan is Chief Executive of Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS), Singapore’s lead agency for suicide prevention. Gasper has worked over three decades leading and growing companies of all sizes, from multinational corporations to start-ups. His experience and leadership have been focused on strategic management, as well as developing and steering dynamic business services across the Asian Pacific region.
Gasper’s accolades in the business sectors include achieving Top 10 fastest-growing firm in Singapore; and has participated in government projects, including the recent NCSS-led Beyond COVID-19 taskforce, which focuses on building social preparedness with community-focused initiatives. He is currently a member of the Inter-Agency Taskforce Work Group on Mental Health and Well-being. He has also held several board positions throughout his career.
As a strong advocate for strengthening community resilience, Gasper believes in empowering people and deepening collaborations to manage future challenges.
Appointed Since: 16 September 2019
© 2023 Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS)
