BULLETIN ARTICLE
14 July 2019
TRANSFORMATION

Regularly for the last 5 years, I have been going to prisons in Singapore. This is by choice and not because the law has caught up with me. I go in for Chapel Services and Bible teaching. Once I was going to a Chapel Service with Elder Francis Maniam and we met a Prison Superintendent who knew me before when I was a prisoner. He said: “This man made a 180 0 turn in his life – a turn for good”. This was a testimony from a non-Christian Prison Superintendent.

I was in prison twice as a Criminal Law Detainee (CLD Sect 55). I was not charged or sentenced for any crime but the police knew that I was a gangster headman. The first time was for 7 years from 1981 – 1988 and the second time for 5 years from 1995 – 2000. At my second imprisonment, a friend encouraged me to attend a Chapel Service conducted by Prison Fellowship Singapore. I enjoyed singing the Christian songs very much. I learnt to pray and read the Bible. We read the Bible like a story book and all the exciting battles King David fought. Gang fights were in my blood. I came to realise from the Bible that there was hope in this hopeless prison. In 1996 I believed in Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour through the preaching of Pastor Benjamin Tham.

I gave up my gang connection while in prison and began telling fellow prisoners about this love, faith and hope in Jesus. I am a believer in Jesus and I want them to also believe. Bible reading, prayer and telling others about Jesus became my new lifestyle. My prison friends simply could not believe this change in my life. God saw me through this challenging time in prison. On 1 Sept. 2000 I was released from Tanah Merah Prison. I was very worried about how to proceed in life because I was a financial bankrupt and had very poor education. Gangster headmen don’t need any education, only violent action. I didn’t have any Christian friends outside the prison. My Bible Class teacher, Elder Francis Maniam, had told me his telephone directory name “Maniam Francis” during one of our classes. I called him and he invited me to Bethesda (Katong) Church. I was baptised in BKC on 26 November 2000. It is more than 8 years since my release from prison and a lot of good things has taken place in my life. In the midst of hopelessness, I found my hope in Jesus and want to tell others of the hope they can find when they believe in him.

Since there is my prison connection, I want to tell present prisoners about Jesus. When I go into the prisons to share with them, many know me or about me because the word has spread that the “shark” (sua he), my gangster nickname, has returned to prison and is now a preacher for Jesus. I believe that God has used me in my prison Chapel Services and Bible teachings and will continue to use me for his glory.

Presently I am running a halfway house for ex-prisoners – Bethesda Aftercare Centre. It is a wonderful opportunity to share to the residents about hope in Jesus in practical ways. This is my way of witnessing for Jesus but I am answering God’s call to me. I know about the hope in Jesus and I want to tell others about it. Sharing this message of hope to people who are hopeless has become a lifestyle for me. Daily I show others that Jesus is living and working in my life. The Holy Spirit gives me the power and strength. Recently (2008) at a Prison Volunteers Appreciation function, I was awarded a 5 year long service award. Imagine it – a 12 years long service CLD criminal receiving a 5 year long service award by the Prison Director for volunteer service in prison. You can find hope in the most hopeless situation. This hope is “Christ in you the hope of glory”. To God be the glory great things He has done!

(Joseph Lee’s testimony in December 2008)