After losing $95k life savings, man driving taxi to keep roof over family's heads: 'It's make or break'

It felt as though life was finally on the upswing for Travis Wong when he sold his flat in 2025. The sales proceeds brought much-needed financial relief for his family and gave him room to focus on growing his businesses.

Then, the former project manager lost $95,000 of his life savings investing in an acquaintance's company. He says an agreement for monthly disbursements was not honoured.

Still, the 46-year-old Singaporean had bills to pay — the most pressing of all a monthly rental of $3,500 for the HDB flat he, his wife, and their two sons now live in.

He declined to provide further details about his family, citing privacy concerns.

Becoming a cabby was Wong's way of rebuilding life.

He explained to AsiaOne: "The only way I can get out of this situation is to make sure that I have money coming in every day.

"The idea is to drive: to pay off the rent, and also in the hope of trying to have some savings so I can rebuild everything back again."

When AsiaOne met Wong last month, he was on an involuntary break. The taxi driver had collided with a Traffic Police vehicle along the PIE on Aug 4, sending him and his passenger to hospital.

Wong sprained his neck in the accident, which also reaggravated his herniated discs.

While dealing with the resulting pain and headaches, he had to wait for a replacement rental taxi to be issued.

It has also been a year since the man and his wife, who currently works on an ad-hoc basis, lost most of their life savings.

Out of a job to seek medical treatment

Wong recounted how in January 2023, he was told by his company to either resign or accept a demotion when he requested a break to seek mental health treatment.

He has anxiety and depression, as well as other physical ailments including sleep apnea and several herniated discs in his neck and back.

Wong decided to resign and prioritise his treatments. He later set up his own businesses offering consultancy services.

"In a sense, we were struggling a little bit," Wong said of their financial situation.

Income, he pointed out, was also unstable as he had to "pace himself" because of his health conditions.

"What my wife and I thought was that we're going to sell our house, we're going to have money coming in, so I could finally focus on doing business. We don't have to push ourselves; I could seek treatment."

So they sold their first house — a HDB Executive Apartment in the Jurong West area purchased in 2007.

Wong said this brought in a cash sum of slightly over $100,000. They planned to grow the amount by investing, with the goal of purchasing a new home in 2027.

"We were really getting better. A lot of the things that we said that we were going to do were going to happen because we had that money," Wong told AsiaOne.

Approached to invest in acquaintance's company

It was at this very moment that Wong heard about an investment opportunity from an online acquaintance, who claimed they were expanding their company.

Promised that they could collect monthly payments of the principal together with interest, which ranged between 10 to 15 per cent, over a period of two years, the man and his wife agreed to invest in the company.

But two months went by without any payments, with Wong describing their attempts to retrieve the funds as "going in circles".

Things came to a head in November, when he confronted the acquaintance over a call.

He recounted: "I did tell them when I gave the money that this is literally life and death for us because we needed this money. The only reason why we put in the sum is that we are promised monthly payments."

In a moment of distress, Wong told his acquaintance that he felt like he had "no way out".

"I think they genuinely feared that I'll do something drastic, like take my own life. Which was of course, never the case. I was actually trying to convey the dire financial situation that we are in," the man said.

That was also when he accepted there was "no chance" of recovering his investment.

Wong showed AsiaOne a copy of a police report he filed over the "fraud" in mid-November.

The police confirmed to AsiaOne that a report was lodged, and investigations are ongoing.

Spending long hours on the road

Now, Wong needs to keep a roof over his family's heads. What was left of their sale proceeds had been used to pay two months of rent and other living expenses.

The fastest and surest way of earning an income for Wong was to become a cabby. He began pursuing a Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence and was cleared to drive full-time in March.

Meanwhile, a fundraising campaign he created in November concluded with over $12,000 in contributions, allowing his family to tide over the year.

"I can't tell you exactly how we survived January and February, but we managed to," he said.

Wong told AsiaOne he has aspires to clock 15 hours on the road daily.

According to his calculation, 13 hours of driving will allow him to cover his housing rent, taxi rental fee and petrol. An additional two hours would let him accumulate savings.

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"I have the blessing of not having nasty customers, except for one or two occasions," he shared, adding that he also enjoyed driving families.

"I don't really stop for meals. I only stop for washroom break, so just really go out there and hustle."

The long hours are physically draining and on days where his herniated discs flares up, he cannot work.

Then, the accident with the traffic police vehicle put him out of commission for nearly a month.

In a 'bad' rent situation

Wong told AsiaOne in September that he is still experiencing the aftereffects of the crash, and struggling to drive consistently due to flare ups in his back and neck.

When we ask about his rent situation for the past month, he described it as "bad", without elaborating further.

Wong has set up another fundraising campaign with a goal of $6,800. He said the money will go to paying off the rental for his house and taxi, as well as medical treatment for his herniated discs.

It was a decision he struggled with. The man told AsiaOne earlier in August that he believes there is a "limit" to the help he can receive.

"If you keep asking for financial help all the time, there's going to be a point in time where people will be wondering: How come this person driving taxi and all that still can't make ends meet?," he reflected.

"There's only so much favour you can get."

Wong is determined to take accountability for his investment decision, and keep his family afloat.

"It's about survival. This is literally make or break," he told AsiaOne.

"I'm just very sorry that my family got involved. I think that's the biggest regret because the money that we lost includes my entire family savings. Having my wife in the equation is my biggest regret because I got her into this, and she has to feel that struggle."

Still, he holds out hope that his situation will begin turning around.

"Despite the accident, I still drive, pay off the bills, and I hope to God next year our HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter will be approved and we qualify for a loan.

"If I could make this miracle happen, then we'll be able to get a house with a mortgage that is a lot more manageable. Reduce the monthly cash expenses, therefore driving less and then get my time back for other things."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.

2025年，Travis Wong卖掉了自己的公寓，感觉生活终于开始好转。售房款为他的家庭带来了急需的经济援助，也让他有空间专注于发展自己的事业。

随后，这位前项目经理将毕生积蓄中的9.5万美元投资于一位熟人的公司，损失惨重。他表示，双方约定的每月分期付款协议并未得到履行。

不过，这位 46 岁的新加坡人仍然有账单要付——其中最紧迫的是他和妻子以及两个儿子现在居住的组屋每月 3500 美元的租金。

他以保护隐私为由，拒绝透露更多关于他家庭的细节。

成为出租车司机是黄重建生活的方式。

他向AsiaOne解释说：“我摆脱这种困境的唯一办法就是确保每天都有收入来源。

“我的想法是开车：为了还清房租，也希望能攒点钱，这样我就可以重新开始生活。”

亚洲新闻网上个月采访黄先生时，他正处于非自愿休假状态。这位出租车司机8月4日在泛岛高速公路（PIE）上与一辆交警车辆相撞，导致他和乘客被送往医院。

黄在事故中扭伤了脖子，这也加重了他的椎间盘突出症。

在忍受由此带来的疼痛和头痛的同时，他不得不等待租来的出租车到货。

这对夫妇（目前靠打零工维持生计）失去大部分毕生积蓄也已经过去一年了。

失业后寻求医疗救治

黄先生回忆说，2023 年 1 月，当他请求休假接受心理健康治疗时，公司告诉他要么辞职，要么接受降职。

他患有焦虑症和抑郁症，以及其他身体疾病，包括睡眠呼吸暂停症和颈部及背部的多处椎间盘突出。

黄决定辞职，专心接受治疗。之后，他创办了自己的公司，提供咨询服务。

“从某种意义上说，我们的财务状况有点困难，”黄先生说。

他指出，由于健康状况的原因，他不得不“控制自己的节奏”，因此收入也不稳定。

“我和妻子当时的想法是，我们要卖掉房子，这样就有了收入，我终于可以专心做生意了。我们不用再勉强自己；我可以去接受治疗。”

于是，他们卖掉了他们的第一套房子——2007 年在裕廊西地区购买的一套组屋行政公寓。

黄先生表示，这笔收入略高于10万美元。他们计划通过投资让这笔钱增值，目标是在2027年购买一套新房。

“我们当时的情况确实在好转。我们之前承诺要做的很多事情都会实现，因为我们有了那笔钱，”黄告诉AsiaOne。

有人找我投资熟人的公司

就在这时，黄从一位网友那里得知了一个投资机会，对方声称他们正在扩张公司。

公司承诺他们可以在两年内每月收取本金和利息（利率在 10% 到 15% 之间），于是这对夫妇同意投资该公司。

但两个月过去了，仍未收到任何款项，Wong 形容他们追回款项的努力“毫无进展”。

事情在 11 月达到了高潮，当时他因为一个电话与那位熟人对质。

他回忆道：“我给他们钱的时候就告诉过他们，这笔钱对我们来说真的关乎生死，因为我们急需这笔钱。我们之所以拿出这笔钱，唯一的原因是他们承诺每月给我们付款。”

在极度焦虑之下，黄告诉熟人，他觉得自己“走投无路”。

“我觉得他们是真的担心我会做出什么极端的事情，比如自杀。当然，这种情况从未发生过。我其实是想跟他们说明我们目前的经济状况有多么糟糕，”这名男子说道。

那时他也接受了“没有机会”收回投资的事实。

黄某向AsiaOne展示了他于11月中旬就这起“诈骗”事件向警方提交的报案副本。

警方向AsiaOne证实，他们已接到报案，目前正在进行调查。

长时间在路上

现在，黄先生需要维持一家人的生计。他们卖房所得的剩余款项已经用来支付了两个月的房租和其他生活开支。

对黄先生来说，最快最稳妥的赚钱方式就是当出租车司机。他开始考取出租车司机职业执照，并于三月份获准全职驾驶。

与此同时，他在 11 月份发起的一项筹款活动最终筹集到了超过 12,000 美元的捐款，使他的家人得以度过这一年。

“我无法确切地告诉你我们是如何熬过一月和二月的，但我们确实熬过来了，”他说。

黄告诉AsiaOne，他渴望每天在路上奔波15个小时。

据他计算，开车13个小时就能支付房租、出租车费和汽油费。再多开两个小时，就能攒下一些钱。

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“我很幸运，除了个别情况外，没有遇到过难缠的顾客，”他说道，并补充说他也喜欢载客载客。

“我基本不停下来吃饭，只停下来上厕所，所以就是不停地赶路。”

长时间的工作让他身心俱疲，而且在椎间盘突出发作的日子里，他根本无法工作。

随后，他与交警车辆发生事故，导致他休养了近一个月。

处于“糟糕”的租金状况

黄先生在9月份告诉AsiaOne，他仍然受到车祸后遗症的影响，由于背部和颈部疼痛反复发作，他很难持续开车。

当我们询问他上个月的房租情况时，他只用了“糟糕”一词来形容，没有做进一步说明。

黄先生发起了另一项筹款活动，目标是筹集6800美元。他说，这笔钱将用于支付房屋和出租车的租金，以及治疗椎间盘突出症的医疗费用。

这是一个让他难以抉择的决定。该男子8月初曾告诉AsiaOne，他认为自己能获得的帮助是“有限的”。

“如果你一直寻求经济援助，总有一天人们会疑惑：为什么这个人开出租车什么的，还是入不敷出呢？”他反思道。

“你能得到的恩惠终究是有限的。”

黄先生决心为自己的投资决定负责，并保住家人的生计。

“这关乎生存。这真的是成败在此一举。”他告诉亚洲新闻网。

“我很遗憾我的家人也卷入了这件事。我觉得这是我最大的遗憾，因为我们损失的钱包括我家所有的积蓄。让我的妻子也牵扯进来是我最大的遗憾，因为是我把她拖下水的，她现在不得不承受这一切。”

尽管如此，他仍然抱有希望，相信自己的处境会开始好转。

“尽管发生了事故，我仍然开车，还清账单，我向上帝祈祷，希望明年我们的组屋资格（HFE）信函能够获得批准，我们也能获得贷款。”

“如果我能创造这个奇迹，我们就能买一套房子，房贷也会更容易负担。这样就能减少每月现金支出，减少开车，让我有更多时间去做其他事情。”

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

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