The clients said that the existing alternatives in the market lack capacity and capability, or are not affordable.
According to the company’s website, Red Crowns offers three types of services for its clients — independent living, assisted living and memory care — with prices starting at S$2,200 for a two-bedder independent living facility in an HDB flat. He added that other caregiving alternatives suffer from either a “lack of capacity or capability” to care for patients with dementia, and that he would not be able to afford other options in the market.Mr Ahravin Sandrasegaran, 34, whose 68-year-old father currently resides in a flat at Hillview Heights with two other elderly men with dementia, said that other dementia day care centres were not able to meet his needs.
Mr Ahravin, who pays close to S$4,000 a month for Red Crowns’ services, also expressed sympathy for other families in a similar position.For another 69-year-old client, who wanted to be known only as Mr Goh, the social aspect of having other elderly in the same apartment as well as having more dedicated attention paid to his 93-year-old mother were key factors in his decision to choose Red Crowns.
In an emailed statement early on Thursday morning, Mr Joshua Goh said that he was"surprised" by MOM's public announcement about the probe on Tuesday. Mr Goh added that the company, which is registered with the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, has been cooperating with the ministry for the past year-and-a-half to address its concerns.
Despite this, Mr Steven Lam, founder and director of law firm Templars Law LLC, said that MOM’s probe into the company’s operations is justified, citing concerns pertaining to both the domestic workers employed and the elderly.