From Classroom to Comeback - Mr Hou's Journey of Hope and Healing - Stroke Support Station
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From Classroom to Comeback – Mr Hou’s Journey of Hope and Healing

On a quiet evening in February 2020, Mr Hou Meng Hsien was watching television when suddenly, a stroke struck him.

“I got into a blurred state and my son called an ambulance. I was sent to the hospital immediately. It became my home for the next three months,” recounted Mr Hou.

During his stay at the hospital, Mr Hou went through acute physio and occupational therapy to improve his physical and functional health. His children took turns to visit and supported him physically and mentally.

 

Life After Stroke

Before his stroke, Mr Hou was a teacher in a secondary school. His fulfilling vocation which he found great joy and inspiration in, came to a standstill after the stroke.

“My children were a great source of encouragement during those difficult moments. They helped me in my exercise movements and cooked or bought take-outs for me,” said Mr Hou. His friends and ex-students also bought gifts and visited him at home. The support and concern expressed to him by his family, friends and students had a huge impact on his recovery journey. Mr Hou was able to keep a positive spirit and focus on rehabilitation.

 

Staying Healthy and Active

These days, Mr Hou keeps his mind active by using the computer, smartphone and watching online programmes. He engages in gardening, something he enjoyed since he was young.

With a strong mind and will, Mr Hou accepted his predicament and took steps to improve his life. In S3, Mr Hou is supported by a helpful and caring team of trainers and therapists. With the help of innovative technologies such as the Robowalk Expander Treadmill, Mr Hou is able to improve his mobility. Although he uses a walking stick in public, he is also learning to walk without one at home.

“I am happy and grateful that I am still in good health despite having suffered a stroke,” said Mr Hou, reflecting on his life as a stroke survivor. His goal to achieve greater success in his rehabilitation journey is certainly commendable.

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    Ms Chang Hwee Nee

    Director and Chairman

    Ms Chang Hwee Nee is Chief Executive of the National Heritage Board (NHB). Before joining NHB, Ms Chang Hwee Nee held senior positions in the Ministries of National Development, Education, Health, and Finance. Ms Chang graduated with an MA in Economics from Cambridge University, United Kingdom. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Ms Chang is also a member of the Nomination (1 April 2019) and Investment (1 April 2020) Committees at S3.

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    Mr Loh Khum Whai, Max

    Director, Treasurer and Chairperson, Finance Committee

    Mr Max Loh is the Chairman of Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore and serves as a director on various statutory boards as well as public and private companies. He was formerly the Managing Partner for EY in Asean, Singapore, Brunei.  He has over 30 years of experience in providing audit and business advisory services to a broad range of clients, including technology, construction and manufacturing corporates, hotels, financial institutions, and government concerns. He is also experienced in strategic planning, re-organisation, and operations improvement projects for various local companies as part of their globalisation and listing efforts. Mr Loh graduated from the National University of Singapore with Honours and is a fellow member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, CPA Australia and the Singapore Institute of Directors. He also serves as a member of the Investment Committee at S3.

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    Dr Ahmad Bin Mohamed Magad

    Director and Chairperson of Human Resources Committee

    Dr Ahmad Magad is the Lead Independent Director at Salleh Marican Foundation and PropNex Limited respectively. He currently sits in the Board of Trustees at Sree Narayana Mission Singapore (SNM) and is a member of the Malay Heritage Foundation. He was also Non-Executive Chairman at Second Chance Limited. Dr Ahmad was formerly the Secretary General of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, and the Group Managing Director and Chairman at II-VI Singapore Pte Ltd as well as that of II-VI Infrared (IR) Optics Manufacturing Operations in Asia. He also served as President of the Singapore Productivity Association. He was also an elected Member of the Singapore Parliament (MP) and served in the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Dr Ahmad is a Fellow Member of CPA (Australia), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK), and the Singapore Institute of Directors. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Management Development Institute of Singapore. Dr Ahmad was awarded the Walter L. Hurd Executive Medal by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation in November 2016 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Dr Ahmad is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 April 2019) and was recently appointed Chairman of the Human Resources Committee at S3.

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    Ms Foo Sew Yen, Janet

    Director and Chairperson, Fund-raising and Communications Committee

    Ms Foo Sew Yen, Janet has 40 years of experience in the tourism industry with a specialisation in marketing and corporate event management for international clients. Prior to retirement, she founded her own events company servicing clients in the financial and information technology industries. An advocate of early parenthood, she formerly served on the board of I Love Children. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Singapore Institute of Management. Ms Foo is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 April 2020) at S3.

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    Mr Yap Wai Ming

    Director and Chairperson, Strategy and Partnership Development Committee
    Chairperson, Nomination Committee

    Mr Yap Wai Ming is a consultant to Harry Elias Partnership LLP, a Singapore law practice and a partner with Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership, a Malaysian law firm. He has over 37 years of experience in advising corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, project finance and equity and debt capital markets and has an interest in the gaming and leisure business sectors. He is also a founder member and director of Corporate Monitor Limited, a Singapore charity that focuses on improving corporate performance of listed companies through rigorous research and engagement. He is also a Director of Vanguard Health Fund Limited, a committee member of the SingHealth Foundation Fund and Vanguard Medifund Committee respectively. He serves on the board of Ren Ci Hospital as well. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LLB with Honours and was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Singapore and Malaysia bar. Mr Yap is also a member of the Audit Committee (21 March 2018) at S3.

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    Dr Khoo Cheng Hoe, Andrew

    Director and Chairperson, Investment Committee

    Dr Andrew Khoo is currently a board member of the National Environmental Agency and the Bank of Ningbo respectively. He is also Chairman of the board at OCBC Bank (Hong Kong). He was formerly Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Development) at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he spent most of his career. He was a board member of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Dr Khoo is also a non-executive and independent director at the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) as well as a non-executive director at Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. He also served as a member of the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance, Securities Industry Council, Accounting Standards Council, and Advisory Board of the School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University. He is also a member of the Audit Committee (1 October 2021) at S3.

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    Dr Loh Yong Joo

    Director and Chairperson, Programmes, Services & Innovation Committee

    Dr Loh is currently a Senior Consultant and Head of Department in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. His clinical sub-specialty is in neurorehabilitation and research interests are in rehabilitation technologies, especially in the areas of virtual reality, wearable sensors, telehealth, serious gaming, robotics, and AI/deep learning in rehabilitation. He is currently also Director of Clinical Innovations in TTSH Clinical Research & Innovation Office (CRIO), Adjunct Associate Professor, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and Academic Chair, NHG Rehabilitation Health Academic Clinical Program. Dr Loh has been newly appointed as Chairperson of the Programmes, Services & Innovation Committee at S3 on 1 October 2025. 

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    Ms Magdelene Chua

    Director and Chairperson, Audit Committee

    Magdelene is a Partner with PwC Singapore with over 25 years of professional experience providing assurance and financial advisory services to multinational and listed clients. Beyond her experience in financial and operational audit, she has accumulated specific experience in corporate governance, financial reporting, investigations, global capital markets, data audits, M&A transactions, post- deal implementation and finance effectiveness. She is passionate about digitalisation, and in her previous role as PwC’s Assurance Transformation Leader in Singapore, she was responsible for driving the digital strategy and transformation programmes. Magdelene is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and Fellow of CPA Australia. Beyond professional work, she is a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and currently serves as a board member on the National Parks Board and ULI Asia Pacific Board.

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    Mr Jason Bay

    Director and Chairperson, Technology Committee

    Mr Jason Bay is Director, Chief Operating Officer’s Office, Sea Limited, and Chairperson of the newly installed Technology Committee (as of 1 October 2025) at S3. He is also a Senior Research Fellow (Adjunct) at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

    Mr Bay previously served as a public sector digital technology policymaker and privacy regulator, supporting the digital transformation of key sectors of the Singapore economy and advancing competition and consumer protection policies in the infocomm, media, and data protection domains.

    As a technology practitioner, Mr Bay was the inventor and mastermind of TraceTogether, the world’s first digital contact tracing system, which won multiple international awards for innovation during the pandemic. He is the subject of case studies on digital innovation by Harvard Business School and Singapore Management University, and regularly speaks on digital governance, ethics, and innovation.

    Mr Bay continues to pursue societal benefit through the considered application of digital technology to improve lives.

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    Mr Ling Ping Chih, Leonard

    Director

    Mr Ling is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Coherence Pte Ltd and is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Foundation Healthcare Holdings. He has over 18 years of experience in People Strategy and Organisation Development in both consulting and corporate environments. His key consulting experiences include job redesign, competency modelling, performance management, manpower planning, training and development, knowledge management, remuneration and benefits structuring, change management, organisation design, and strategy development. Mr Ling is also a member of the Nomination Committee (7 February 2022) at S3.

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    Mrs Celine Tang

    Director

    Mrs Celine Tang is the Non-Executive Chairman of Acrophyte Pte Ltd (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng Corporation Ltd). As a veteran of the real estate industry, she ran SingHaiyi Group Pte Ltd as its Group Managing Director before retiring in March 2023. In addition to real estate, Mrs Tang possesses rich experience spanning pharmaceutical and commodities trading. Mrs Tang also controls New Port Duty Free Pte Ltd, the leading bonded provision supplier and ship chandler in Singapore. She also serves as the Non-executive Chairman of OKH Global Ltd. Possessing a strong belief in giving back to the society, Mrs Tang has been actively sponsoring and donating to the local community, education, sports and healthcare. Mrs Tang graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature from China People’s University for Police Officers (now known as People’s Public Security University of China). Mrs Tang is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 March 2024) at S3.

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    Ms Ng Rei Na

    Chief Executive Officer

    Since 2009, Ms Ng Rei Na has served in various social service sector roles both locally and internationally prior to her appointment as the Executive Director of S3.

    Rei Na began her career in the social services sector by being part of the Strategic Planning, Research and Development Unit at the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). She subsequently led Singapore’s largest disability sheltered workshop and social enterprise programme in the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) for nearly a decade, where she spearheaded innovation and digital transformation, led ideation and strategic thinking for inclusive employment, and more. Rei Na proceeded to lead the Employability Services Unit at Rainbow Centre for almost three years. She also served on the Board of Directors for Workability International from 2019 to 2022.

    Rei Na holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (2nd Upper Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

    Joined 18 October 2021

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    Mr Cheng Guang Hao

    Deputy Chief Executive Officer

    Mr Cheng Guang Hao started his career as a physiotherapist in the private sector. Since 2019, he joined the social service sector through TOUCH Community Services where he played multiple roles in managing complex operations, leadership development, project management, and strategy development. Leveraging his prior clinical experience, Guang Hao possesses a deep understanding of the core challenges faced by staff in the community care sector, allowing him to effectively lead the clinical programme development and corporate services within S3.

    Guang Hao holds a Masters in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy) from Curtin University and a Diploma in Physiotherapy from Nanyang Polytechnic. He has also attained a Graduate Certificate in Organisational Development and a Professional Certificate in Public Policy and Administration.

    Guang Hao is an AHPC registered physiotherapist in Singapore and a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner.

    Joined 2 May 2023

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    Mr Lim Yuan Kang

    Director, Partnerships & Development
    Co-Director, Programmes (Active Ageing)

    Mr Lim Yuan Kang has over a decade of experience in the community health and social care sector honed through both professional and volunteer roles, thus equipping him with in-depth knowledge of community health service providers and the needs of persons with disabilities. Prior to joining S3, Yuan Kang played a key role in developing integrated community eldercare services at the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC). He also led a pioneering programme with caregivers at Rainbow Centre to enable alternative models of employment for persons with special needs that required high support.

    Yuan Kang holds a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude from Middlebury College.

    Joined 7 March 2022

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    Ms Goh Shi Min

    Deputy Director, Rehabilitation & Clinical Services

    Ms Goh Shi Min brings over a decade of diverse physiotherapy experience to S3. She honed her skills for seven years at the National University Health System’s (NUHS) JurongHealth Campus, providing physiotherapy care to a broad spectrum of patients including those in neurological and geriatrics unit, orthopaedic, and cardiac rehabilitation. She took special interest in neuro-rehabilitation and also developed and conducted training programmes for various stakeholders in the neurological department.

    She further expanded her expertise as a Senior Clinical Specialist with BMEC.asia before joining S3 in 2023 to lead the clinical team in optimising the current service structure for the stroke community.

    Shi Min holds a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and a Diploma in Physiotherapy from Nanyang Polytechnic.

    Shi Min is an AHPC registered physiotherapist in Singapore. She has also been granted the certification of an Adaptive and Inclusive Trainer (AIT) from ATA (Adaptive Training Academy).

    Joined 17 April 2023

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