Tan Chuan-Jin
Singapore
“A step-parent who wishes to leave any part of his or her estate to a stepchild is encouraged to make a will. Intestacy law would apply in cases where a person passes on without a will.”
“Last year, we reviewed and extended the Child Development Account, or CDA benefits to children of unwed parents. The Government granted CDA benefits, to children of unwed parents born, or with an estimated date of delivery, from 1 September 2016. It is generally good practice to implement our policies prospectively.”
“The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) does not track the number of persons who choose to remain homeless instead of being admitted into shelters. When MSF receives information on persons who may be homeless, we initiate contact with these persons on the ground to offer assistance.”
“Our law places the child's welfare and interests at the heart of an adoption decision. We must not forget that such an adoption is a life-changing event because when an unwed mother adopts her child, the duties, obligations and liabilities of the biological father are terminated.”
“The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) works closely with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to plan for preschools in upcoming Build-To-Order (BTO) developments, including Bidadari new town. To better meet the needs of young parents, new preschools will have larger capacities and also be completed earlier where possible.”
“The Silver Support Scheme under the Manpower Ministry provides an income supplement to seniors who had low incomes through life and who now have little or no family support. Beyond ComCare, we are also expanding upstream intervention to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable families and their children to set a good foundation.”
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“Single unwed parents with housing difficulties can approach the Housing and Development Board (HDB) for assistance and advice on their housing options. Where necessary, HDB would refer the parents to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and social service agencies for counselling and support. MSF works closely with HDB and social service agencies to help address their family and relationship issues and to provide financial and employment assistance. Each family will be assisted based on their individual circumstances, and the agencies will work with them to achieve housing stability. We believe that home ownership is a better long-term solution for families than rental because it provides a greater sense of stability and gives families an asset, allowing them to share in Singapore's progress. Monthly instalments for sold flats can also be paid using Central Provident Fund monies, unlike rental housing which must be paid in cash. This will save some cash for families and help them with their immediate cash positions. HDB also recognises the needs of low-income households who cannot afford to own a flat immediately and have no family support, and provides public rental flats as temporary housing for them. Public rental tenants with higher incomes pay higher rent than those with lower incomes. This ensures that subsidies are progressive and targeted at those who need more help. However, Page: 136 HDB also exercises flexibility. For instance, for tenants whose monthly income has just improved from the lowest income tier to the next, HDB could waive their rent increase at tenancy renewal so that they can continue to pay the lower rent for another two years.”
“Mdm Speaker, I do agree that there is a need to ensure that it is as accessible as possible and easy for individuals to apply. But at the same time, it is also important to remember that this is an important legal document. So, we need to strike a balance. We are quite happy to continually improve the forms. For example, the feedback from the Member, I would be happy to convey to the Courts to see whether they can streamline the stickers and so on. We are taking on board feedback from the public and from concerned individuals. I am not sure whether the Member has surfaced some of these particular pieces of feedback, but the idea is to continually improve and to make it as easy as possible while at the same time making sure that it is sufficiently rigorous.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I think it is a common feedback. At first glance, it would seem like a very reasonable request, but allowing someone to make a decision for an adult is a very serious matter. Hence, a judicial body, for Page: 19 example, the Family Justice Courts, should evaluate if the person lacks capacity to make his own decisions and the proposed deputy is suitable to act in the long term, even if it is the next-of-kin, for example, the parents. For instance, relatives could be abusive and could also have debilitating illnesses that impair their own mental capacity. It may not always naturally be suitable. I understand where the Member is coming from, but I think it is a very serious step. This is something that for the present moment, we do not feel that is a step we are prepared to take. It is important for a judicial body like the Family Justice Courts to evaluate and make the decisions accordingly.”
“Mdm Speaker, with regard to the first question, we are in the process of trying to encourage Singaporeans to take up the LPA. As mentioned earlier, the numbers have been increasing but I would agree that the numbers are nowhere near what we would like them to be, short of compelling and making it compulsory. The last mile really needs to be taken by the individual. So, I do ask for Members' support to encourage their residents to do so. We are doing as much as we can to raise awareness and that is something that we will keep on doing. With regard to the second question, I have highlighted some of the various processes available right now to assist the individuals. Where possible, decisions to take up the LPA should be done as early as possible so that individuals can pre-plan. For those who do have some of these incapacities already and are concerned about what they can do, then some of the steps highlighted earlier should be taken. But again, the main thing is to help raise awareness amongst all the various individuals concerned, so that they can take the necessary steps.”
“In this project, parents are assisted by MINDS school psychologists, social workers, volunteer academics and students from the National University of Singapore Law Faculty. We hope to extend the project to two more Special Education schools by the end of this year, and three more next year. In working on the MINDS project, we realised the need to have a better, more standardised mental capacity assessment form which could be submitted to the Courts. Hence, we have organised an inter-agency committee to develop a mental capacity assessment form for Page: 18 deputyship which covers key domain areas of capacity. Special Education schools and doctors could, in future, use the form for their students and patients respectively. For low-income individuals who have no family members or friends willing and able to be appointed as their deputies, my Ministry has established a panel of professionals that the Court can appoint as deputies on a pro-bono basis. There are currently 18 public-spirited professionals from the financial, healthcare, legal and social work sectors on this panel. Families in financial difficulty can seek legal assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau under the Ministry of Law to file the deputyship application. Applicants will have to go through a means test and merits test to qualify for legal aid.”
“Mdm Speaker, families need to apply to the Courts to appoint a deputy for any family member who loses capacity and has not made a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), in order to have the legal authority to act on his behalf. But before I explain more about deputyship, let me say that a better option would be for Singaporeans to plan ahead and make an LPA. One key advantage of making an LPA is that the individual is able to choose his proxy decision-maker and discuss the LPA with his family so that his wishes are made known. So, the key thing is, the better option really is for Singaporeans to plan ahead and make the LPA ahead of time. In order to encourage Singaporeans to do so, can I ask the Members of this House to please encourage your residents to do so? The fee waiver for Singaporeans making an LPA Form 1 giving the donee general powers has been extended till 31 August 2018. In the last two years, about 23,000 LPA applications were received, compared with 7,200 received over the previous four years prior to the fee waiver. We hope that many, many more Singaporeans will take advantage of the fee waiver to pre-plan. Broadly, allow me to share some initiatives which my Ministry is undertaking to streamline the deputyship process further. Firstly, the Family Justice Courts have simplified the forms for deputyship application. We are also discussing with the Courts regarding how deputyship applications may be made more accessible to families. Last year, we partnered the Family Justice Courts and the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled in Singapore (MINDS) on a pilot project to simplify the deputyship application process for parents of MINDS students.”
“The National Council on Problem Gambling commissions the Survey on Participation in Gambling Activities among Singapore Residents every three years. The survey includes screening questions to detect probable pathological gamblers, based on diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders developed by the American Psychiatric Association. The same diagnostic criteria have been used in similar studies in Hong Kong, Macau and the United States. As the survey is conducted via face-to-face interviews, the screening questions only capture the respondents’ self-professed behaviour and do not represent a clinical assessment of actual gambling disorders. Based on the latest survey in 2014, the proportion of respondents classified as probable pathological gamblers is 0.2%, compared to 2.1% in 2005, 1.2% in 2008 and 1.4% in 2011. The average monthly betting amount among probable pathological gamblers was $313 in 2014. This has decreased from the average monthly betting amount of $637 in 2005, $619 in 2008 and $1,713 in 2011. The surveys collected information on monthly personal income by income brackets, instead of the monthly household income. The probable pathological gambling rate by monthly personal income brackets is shown in Table A below. While the probable pathological gambling rate has dropped in 2014, we cannot be complacent and will continue to monitor the trends in future runs of the survey.”
“Operators can receive centre development grants, furnishing and equipment grants, or rental cost subsidies if they meet affordability and quality requirements. Finally, small and medium-sized operators can also tap on the Capability Development Grant, Innovation and Capability Voucher and other programmes offered by SPRING Singapore. Operators can make use of these schemes to build capabilities via staff training, technology adoption or by defraying the cost of consultancy projects in the areas of human resources, financial management, innovation and productivity.”
“Fewer than 30 preschools, constituting about 2% of the 1,700 preschools in Singapore, ceased operations in 2015. While some of these were standalone preschools, there were also those which were part of a larger group. The Government’s priority is to provide good quality, accessible and affordable early childhood services, so as to ensure a good start for every child. To achieve this, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has implemented a range of initiatives to support operators of different sizes. First, we have the Anchor Operator and Partner Operator schemes to support selected larger and smaller preschool operators respectively. Besides keeping their fees to the specified caps, these operators are also supported to improve the quality of their preschools. We have also seen smaller operators coming together to achieve greater economies of scale and tap on Government support under the Partner Operator Scheme. Second, we have a number of broad-based initiatives to help all operators develop and attract more educators to the sector. These include the new Skills Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education, the Professional Development Programme, and ECDA's Scholarships and Training Awards. In addition, the Government also provides funding support for operators to adopt smart solutions, such as for attendance-taking and temperature-taking, to support educators in their work and to raise sector productivity. Third, support schemes are available to help operators defray costs and keep their fees affordable. These include the Community and Sports Facilities Scheme under the Urban Redevelopment Authority, as well as the Portable Rental Subsidies and the Workplace Child Care Centre Scheme under ECDA.”
“Providing affordable and quality childcare services for parents is a key priority for the Government. In the last few years, we have increased the provision of these services through our Anchor Operator (AOP) and Partner Operator (POP) schemes, which now make up almost half of the childcare market. Operators under the AOP and POP schemes are subject to fee caps of $720 and $800 (before GST) respectively, and controls over fee increases. Singaporean children enrolled in POP centres also benefited from a one-off reduction in fees when the scheme was rolled out in January this year. With these schemes in place, the industry median fee was lowered for the first time in at least a decade, from $900 to $856. In addition, the Government provides childcare subsidies to help defray the fees borne by parents. On top of the basic subsidy of $300 per month for working mothers, lower- and middle-income families who require more help have been offered additional subsidies of up to $440 per month since 2013. For example, a low-income family with a child enrolled in an AOP centre charging $720 (with GST) will only pay the minimum co-payment amount of $3 a month. More recently, the Child Development Account (CDA) First Step grant was introduced this year. CDA funds can also be used to pay for education and healthcare needs of the child, including childcare fees. The multi-pronged approach of providing quality and affordable services through Anchor and Partner operators, complemented by Government support through the CDA and our childcare subsidy framework, has made childcare more affordable. We will continue to review our policies, including our childcare subsidies, to ensure that quality childcare remains affordable for families.”
“All it takes is consideration in the buildings that we build, in the workplaces that we establish, in the community that we live in and in our everyday lives. Just simple actions, like giving way while on the MRT, providing assistance to board the bus, not parking in accessible lots meant for persons with disabilities. And most importantly, it is in our hearts and minds that we need to just embrace our fellow Singaporeans of any ability for who they are. It can be done. It just starts with you and me. Let me end by congratulating once again all our Paralympians and to thank you. Because by being who you are and championing the way forward, you help us all become better selves and perhaps, in turn, to begin to build a better Singapore. [Applause.]”
“Sze Ning's mother, Mdm Tan Ngoek Moi, shared in two interviews – I gathered her various comments and put them together. And she shared this about Sze Ning when she was young: "Everyone said to me, ‘Why don't you just abandon her? Don't be so hard on yourself." But she said later, "I'm happy and proud to see her all grown up. She already did her best and came in fourth overall. We have to use our sincerity to motivate them because they are our children and we understand them. And we, as parents, we have to help them. If we don't, no one else will." For our para-athletes and their families, it is not just in the competitions that they have to strive hard. It is also in the race of life that they cross seemingly insurmountable hurdles, dealing with the simplest of tasks that so many of us just take for granted. Thank you for showing us how deep and wide our love for our family can and should be. Thank you for reminding us that family matters. All of you, not just our athletes, but all our Singaporeans with disabilities and special needs, you have changed us. While we have made some progress towards a more inclusive society, we are definitely not there yet. We want to be a people who see the person first before the disability. We want to be able to care, to be compassionate and to love. You have all certainly played an instrumental part in our journey to become a better people and a better society. I call on all Singaporeans to play an active role in this inclusive journey. In big and small ways, never under-estimate the difference that we can make, whether as family members, classmates, employers, neighbours or simply as members of the public.”
“You are, first and foremost, our Team Singapore athletes. You enabled us to see the true you – the person behind the physical being. You have been our role models, demonstrating resilience and an indomitable spirit, showing us what is possible through dedication and hard work. For many of you, it is not just about your quest for personal achievement. It goes beyond medals. It is about our community of persons with disabilities. Pin Xiu shared that she would not have continued this journey if she was doing it for herself. What made her persevere is the desire to inspire other Singaporeans facing similar challenges through her actions and achievements. She has grown from a child who did not know much about para-sports to eventually becoming a world record holder with three gold medals to her name. She wants to share this message with all Singaporeans: that you can get there if you want it bad enough. The same goes for all our para-athletes who want to show that anything is possible if you try and work towards it and, most importantly, to believe in yourself. There is another group of champions whom I want to recognise – the family and friends of our Paralympians. You have shown great support and are clearly the number one fans of our para-athletes. Your love and sacrifice have enabled them to realise their dreams. You are always there to cheer them on and are their pillars of support through ups and downs. Theresa's parents, Mr Bernard Goh and Mdm Rose Mok, firmly believe in the value of sports, and that every child, able-bodied or disabled, has his or her unique strengths. They believe that sports brought more opportunities for their children to make friends and to form a support group which helped them develop and become stronger socially, emotionally and mentally.”
“Mdm Speaker, we are all just simply elated to be here today to congratulate all of you, our Team Singapore athletes, on your achievements. In my many years watching and supporting sports, I have never seen such levels of interest and support for our para-athletes. It is amazing. Not only will this be the new norm, I believe that the support will grow from strength to strength. Last year's ASEAN Para Games was instrumental. Not only did you compete and flew our flag with pride, you opened our eyes to show us what a "never-say-die" attitude is all about, both in the arena and outside of it. This year, 13 of you represented us at the recent Rio Paralympic Games. This is our largest contingent ever. What more can I say about Pin Xiu, Theresa, Syahidah, Norsilawati, Suhairi, Diroy, Nurul, Sze Ning, Laurentia, Max, Gemma, Jovin and Qian Yin that has not been said. You have been outstanding ambassadors for Singapore. Many of us were not able to be there in Rio to support you, but I hope you heard us cheering you on thousands of miles away, where many of us watched you intently on the screens and followed your exploits via social media. You united us as one people regardless of where we were in the world. I remember each one of your beaming faces as you arrived back home in Singapore at Changi Airport, starting with Suhairi who surely has the most infectious smile ever. Your Rio journey was clearly uplifting but, perhaps even more significantly, you created something special for all of us. How many of us have the privilege and honour to wear our national colours and to fly our flag at competitions? How many of us can display the sheer grit and determination that can inspire so many? How many of us can galvanise a community and pull people together?”
“Another features popular getai MC Wang Lei relating his struggles with problem gambling and the importance of family support in helping him recover from problem gambling. While the Government puts in place stringent safeguards, complemented with NCPG's public education efforts, personal responsibility as well as family and community support are still essential to address this complex issue of problem gambling.”
“To prevent over-spending and addiction, all account holders will be required to set a daily expenditure limit and funding limit before they are allowed to place bets. Funding limit means the maximum amount that can be transferred or deposited into the account per calendar day, while expenditure limit means the maximum amount that can be used for betting per calendar day. Once they have reached their expenditure limits, they will no longer be allowed to place any bets for the rest of the day. As an additional safeguard, any request to increase their expenditure limit will only take place the next day, while requests to reduce their expenditure limit will be effective immediately. To facilitate informed play, the EOs are required to display responsible gambling messages prominently, such as the time and amount spent, the total win/losses for the day, and alert the individual if he has reached or exceeded 75% of his daily expenditure limit. Lastly, the EOs will be required to submit all advertising and promotions (A&P) materials to MSF for approval. Advertisements and promotions must not induce gambling. NCPG has been active in rolling out prevention programmes to complement the stringent safeguards for remote gambling. For example, NCPG partners TOUCH Cyber Wellness and Fei Yue Community Services to deliver cyber wellness roadshows and talks to students and parents. NCPG also launches public education campaigns and videos to highlight the risks of problem gambling. One of the recent videos has a backdrop of sports betting and illegal online betting, to educate youths on spotting the signs of problem gambling and helping their friends in need.”
“Problem gamblers and their families can seek help through the National Council on Problem Gambling or approach other avenues like the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS) at the Institute of Mental Health directly. There are also other community and religious organisations that offer help services for gambling addiction. The list of help services is available on the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) website. Thye Hua Kwan saw 287 problem gambling cases in 2015; NAMS saw 370 new cases between April 2015 and March 2016. Based on an ongoing project conducted by NAMS to monitor 114 patients’ progress in treatment outcome in FY2015, 39.5% reported involvement in online gambling. As problem gamblers tend to be involved in both online and offline gambling, it is difficult to delineate the cases that are primarily due to online gambling or where online gambling Page: 114 is a gateway to offline gambling. MSF has worked closely with MHA to develop a range of social safeguards for the exempt operators (EOs) to implement, to protect young persons and other vulnerable persons from the harms of remote gambling. To prevent youth gambling, all account holders must be at least 21 years old before they can open a remote gambling account. The EOs have to carry out stringent checks to verify the identity of the applicant, such as a face-to-face verification at physical outlets with a valid NRIC/FIN and screening of existing casino exclusions with NCPG, before an account can be opened. To protect financially vulnerable individuals, persons who have been excluded from casinos due to family objection or their financial situation will not be allowed to open an account. Individuals can also apply to exclude themselves from remote gambling.”
“The Maintenance of Parents Act takes a "conciliation first" approach, with legal action as a last resort. This approach started in 2011 when the Act was amended to create the office of the Commissioner for the Maintenance of Parents. The Commissioner conciliated 221 cases in 2015 and 136 from January till August 2016. Since 2011, we have seen encouraging results with a resolution rate of about 80%. With upfront conciliation by the Commissioner, there have been fewer maintenance applications filed at the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents. This has also reduced acrimony and discontent between parties. Prior to 2011, the three-year average number of new applications at the Tribunal was 170. It fell to an average of 67 per year for 2012-2014. In 2015, the number was 36 and, from January till August 2016, 51 applications have been filed. At the heart of most cases is poor family relations. This could be caused by irresponsible parenting, deep-rooted conflict in the family or a lack of filial piety. The Ministry will continue to promote filial piety and responsible parenting and, in particular, encourage fathers to be actively involved in raising their children. Such efforts aim to strengthen family bonds and reduce the need for elderly parents to resort to legal recourse for maintenance. In addition, in instances where the children cannot maintain their parents, for example, they themselves are on social support or are incarcerated, the Tribunal and the Commissioner would refer such elderly to the SSOs. The aim is to ensure that the elderly's basic needs are met, but it does also reduce the number of cases officially filed.”
“As such, we have introduced marriage programmes in December 2014 to help these couples manage cross-cultural differences as they settle down in Singapore and to strengthen their marriages. These programmes include the Marriage Preparation Programme offered before marriage, the Marriage Support Programme for newly-weds, and the Friendship Programme, which comprises family bonding activities, support group sessions and pairing of volunteers to foreign spouses as "buddies". The Ministry has also expanded marriage support for young couples. Couples marrying on and after 1 October 2016, where at least one party is below 21 years old will be required to attend a Marriage Preparation Programme conducted by MSF-approved organisations before a marriage licence can be issued. This requirement is in addition to prior parental consent. These programmes, which include a component on financial planning, help couples build strong marriages, regardless of income or education. Page: 110 Page: 111 Page: 112 Page: 113”
“MSF tracks marriage dissolution on a marriage cohort basis. Marriage dissolution comprises divorces and annulments, with divorces making up about 95% of all dissolutions. Marriage cohort dissolution rates refer to the cumulative proportion of marriages from a particular year that have dissolved by a certain year. Page: 109 We have used the 2007 to 2009 marriage cohorts as we can more meaningfully compare dissolution rates before the fifth anniversary from date of marriage onwards. The population is defined as "resident marriages"; that is, marriages involving at least one Singapore Citizen (SC) or Permanent Resident (PR). In addition, educational qualification is used as a proxy for income, as income is not a compulsory field when couples file for marriage locally. For couples who married in 2007 to 2009, the number of dissolved marriages before the fifth anniversary for resident marriages remained relatively stable at around 1,500 to 1,600 per year of a dissolution rate of 6.4% to 6.8%. In general, the number of dissolved marriages was lower for marriages involving grooms with higher educational qualifications attained as shown in tables 1A to 1D below. The number of marriages between a Singapore Citizen (SC) and a Non-Resident (NR) was around 6,000 to 7,000 for the three marriage cohorts from 2007 to 2009. Of these, around 400 to 500 marriages of each marriage cohort or 7.1% to 7.9% dissolved before the fifth anniversary. Based on the three marriage cohorts from 2007 to 2009, there appears to be an upward trend, but more data points are required to confirm the trend. The Ministry recognises that SC-NR marriages face unique challenges.”
“Learning through play and interaction with children are key concepts in the early childhood pedagogy. Many of the training courses for preschool teachers have embedded techniques on play and interaction in the training programmes. In-service preschool teachers can also tap on the subsidised Continuing Professional Development courses, such as the Specialist Diploma in Early Childhood Learning Support, to enhance their skills in supporting children with developmental needs.”
“My Ministry works closely with KKH and NUH in the Child Development Programme to detect developmental delays in young children at the preschool stage. While general developmental delays can be detected earlier, learning disabilities typically become clearer at a later stage in children, closer to the school-going age. At a young age, children develop and learn at very different paces. A child's development can also be impacted by environmental factors such as exposure and teaching styles. The preschool years are too early to make a definite diagnosis for learning disabilities. Learning difficulties are diagnosed conclusively at a later stage; closer to school-going age than at the preschool stage. About 5% of our student population have been diagnosed with special educational needs. Preschool children, aged five and six, with mild developmental delays or learning needs are supported by the Developmental Support Programme (DSP). DSP is currently offered in some 300 preschool centres and has catered to more than 2,000 children since its inception in 2013. Children on the DSP are given the necessary support to level up their developmental domains for school readiness. The programme also enables these children to benefit from a mainstream and inclusive learning environment. With early intervention through the DSP, the child will develop the competencies he or she requires for Primary 1. Children with more severe developmental needs are supported through the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) which is currently available at 17 EIPIC centres across the island. The Early Childhood Development Agency is working with training institutes to equip preschool teachers with the necessary skills to support children with learning and developmental needs.”
“Family Service Centres and Family Violence Specialist Centres assist family violence victims so that they can remain safely with their families and friends. Where necessary, referrals are made to crisis shelters for temporary accommodation. Over the last three years, an average of 240 abused women and their children sought refuge each year at the four crisis shelters my Ministry funds. Their average length of stay was four Page: 92 months. As the shelters have sufficient capacity, there are currently no plans to set up more shelters. We will continue to monitor the adequacy of our services.”
“The family is the basic building block of our society. Strong marriages are the key to strong families, and parenthood within marriage is the desired and prevailing social norm. Hence, benefits, such as the Baby Bonus cash gift, housing benefits and tax reliefs, are provided to families with legitimate children, to encourage births within marriages. Other benefits that support the growth and development of children are given to all children. These include the recently extended Child Development Account (CDA) benefits, as well as education and healthcare subsidies, the Medisave grant for newborns, infant care and childcare subsidies and the foreign domestic worker levy concession. Those who have difficulty affording legal fees, including unwed mothers who wish to adopt their own child may approach the Legal Aid Bureau for assistance. Applicants will have to satisfy a means test and a merits test to qualify for legal aid. Every situation involving an illegitimate child is different. The Government thus considers each case that it comes across before deciding on the appropriate course of action to take. For instance, illegitimate children can inherit their mother’s estate if their mother dies without a will and has no surviving legitimate children. They may also have other family or social support. These are scenarios where the individual would not need Government support. For children who are vulnerable, MSF's Social Service Offices will assess their needs, provide financial assistance and coordinate support with other social service agencies, where necessary. If there is clearly no next-of-kin and the safety of the minor (aged 16 and below) is compromised, my Ministry can apply for a Court order to place the minor in an alternative environment. Page: 88”
“Those caring for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities at home, whose monthly per capita income is less than $2,600, are also supported through a monthly grant which offsets the cost of hiring a foreign domestic worker. The family is the first and most important line of support. The Government remains committed to support families to care for their loved ones within the home environment. Page: 79”
“Initiatives under the plan include (a) training and assessing a new "corps" of domestic eldercarers so that they can anchor good care for seniors at home; (b) expanding community befriending programmes to strengthen the support network for seniors and their families; (c) piloting a new model of care that provides home and centre-based care flexibly to meet seniors' needs more holistically; and (d) investing in research and innovation to pioneer new and better ways of caring for our seniors at home. The Government further supports caregivers of seniors by putting in place respite services and defraying caregiving costs through schemes, such as Caregiver Training Grant and Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund. Caregivers of loved ones with disabilities can develop or enhance their care skills with the support of the Caregivers’ Training Grant. They can also approach caregiver support centres at Voluntary Welfare Organisations and Special Education schools. In addition, the Government has started a pilot on Home-Based Care Services for Persons with Disabilities aged 16 and above. The pilot provides therapy, personal hygiene care, house-keeping and medication reminder services, to enable Persons with Disabilities to live in their own home, with family, friends and neighbours in the community, and to support their caregivers in the provision of care. Caregivers requiring the assistance of a Foreign Domestic Worker to care for young children, seniors or their loved ones with disability are eligible to pay a lower monthly levy as well. They pay a concessionary levy rate of $60 per month, which is $205 less than usual.”
“The family plays a critical role in the care of young children, seniors and the disabled. Family members not only provide physical care, but are also an important source of Page: 78 emotional support and love. The Government recognises this and has put in place a comprehensive suite of support schemes and initiatives to help families care for their loved ones within the home environment. To support parents in caring for and bonding with their newborns, the Government has been progressively enhancing parental leave provisions, such as maternity, paternity and shared parental leave over the years. From January 2017, the second week of paternity leave will be mandatory and, from July 2017, shared parental leave will be increased from one to four weeks. To further support parents with their caregiving expenses, which may include expenses for home-based care, the Baby Bonus Cash Gift was enhanced last year with the Baby Bonus Plus of $2,000. The Government has also stepped up efforts to support families in caring for their seniors at home. In the past five years, we have made care more accessible by expanding home-based care capacity, which includes services, such as home visits by doctors and nurses, from 3,800 places to 6,900 places. We have also increased centre-based care capacity from 2,100 day places to 3,500 day places and are growing these capacities further to 10,000 home places and 6,200 day places respectively by 2020. MOH has also launched a Home and Community Care Masterplan to enable seniors to grow old at home.”
“Additionally, there is a prevention of gambling inducement via advertising and promotions, so the exempt operators have to submit all materials, as mentioned earlier, for advertising and promotions to MSF for approval. Essentially, no inducement of gambling, no depiction of gambling as a positive avenue, no misleading or false statements about chances of winnings, no appeal to vulnerable groups, including youths. These are measures that we are looking at putting in place. We will constantly review them in terms of their effectiveness and whether things need to be tightened, or if there are new measures to be introduced. That is something that we will track. In terms of the provision of counselling of various sorts, we will continue to look at whatever measures that may be possible. The existing measures will continue to be there, but we will also explore different ways of providing support for the individuals who may need counselling and that would include online counselling. But that is something that we are still looking at in terms of how that may take place.”
“Requirements are as follows: (a) display of responsible gambling messages, which means they need to display responsible gambling messages on all remote gambling web pages; (b) players must acknowledge a warning message of the risk of problem gambling before logging in; (c) display of a time counter to indicate the time spent since the player logged into the account; and (d) the provision of information to players to facilitate informed play, for example, a pop-up message indicating the player's total wins/losses for the day is displayed at log-out, an additional pop-up message indicating the player has exceeded 75% of his daily expenditure limit, and the player can access online monthly or weekly statements of the player's past gambling activities to allow for informed play. Just to illustrate: today, when someone goes to the outlet to buy 4D or Toto, he usually does not track, depending on whether he keeps his own excel spreadsheet or whatever he does to track his expenditure. He actually may have no clue how much he has been spending accumulatively over time. When they are online, that is something that would be made available and made obvious to the individuals concerned. That could have a salutary effect, possibly for some of them. For the operators themselves, there will be training of the staff. The training programme will be put in place to train them to recognise the signs and harms of problem gambling. Staff would be trained to promote responsible gambling and develop protocols for existing players who request for assistance, or to detect signs of problem gambling.”
“Mdm Speaker, I will leave some of these details to be taken up by my colleague who will address the second PQ. Let me respond to some of the questions raised by the Member. In terms of the measures that are being put in place to deal with online gambling, the whole list of these has been highlighted. Let me highlight some of these. For example, we have mentioned that, in terms of age limit, you have to be at least 21 years old to open a remote gambling account; persons with relevant casino exclusion will be prohibited from opening an account; the exempt operators will conduct periodic checks with NCPG and account holders who are found to be on any of the relevant casino exclusions will have their accounts closed; relevant casino exclusions include the Family Exclusion Order, the Third Party Exclusion Order and also Automatic Exclusion by law. As at 30 June 2016, approximately 51,000 individuals are under the relevant casino exclusions and will be prohibited from opening a remote gambling account. Page: 14 What are the daily funding and expenditure limits? Well, the funding limit will be $300, $500, $1,000 and part of it will be user-defined. Expenditure limits are $50, $75, $100, $125, $150, $200, $250, $300 and user-defined. As an additional safeguard, as I have mentioned, any increase in limits takes effect from the next day, while decisions to decrease the limits will take effect immediately. In terms of the Remote Responsible Gambling Programme, the exempt operators are required to implement remote responsible gambling programmes which would promote responsible gambling and informed play amongst players.”
“Members would remember, in the earlier years in the 1960s, we had a lot of illegal gambling, triad links and so on. Then, we put in place Singapore Pools, the Tote Board, Turf Club, not-for-profit organisations. All the existing illegal online operators are there for profit and to exploit as much as they can. But the whole issue here is to really recognise that some of these vices will not go away. How do I deal with a real world problem? How do we look out for the best interest of our people? It is not to encourage gambling. We will continue to discourage it. We will want to continue, through public education and raising awareness, to dissuade Singaporeans from gambling in the first place and particularly online gambling. But for those who are in that space, Page: 13 can we provide some form of outlet where there are safeguards put in place? This is what is happening in Hong Kong and Norway as well. They have also studied very closely the effects of what they have done. What they have found from their assessment is that it has not proliferated and encouraged online gambling in a very big way, but it allows them some space to manage that. And that is the way we want to approach it. So, we share very similar concerns as Members do, which is to deal with the excesses of online gambling. But how best to deal with the issue? We believe that having this fairly controlled, tightly managed space with social safeguards will be one way to deal with it.”
“Mdm Speaker, in the real world today, what is happening is that even with the ban in place, there are people who are gambling. The global market for online gambling continues to grow. Internet penetration, as I have mentioned, is pervasive in Singapore and that will continue to grow as well. We all know that no ban on the Internet will completely seal things off. The reality is that there are Singaporeans who are gambling online and they are gambling in a space where there are no social safeguards, no monitoring. Those that we are able to monitor, we will be able to take some action. But it is a very large space and it is impossible to be able to completely ban that space. What happens to Singaporeans who are out there, who still feel that they want to be online and gambling and getting their fix in some shape and form? It is not just the social ills that come with that. It is also a very real concern with law and order issues because, as I have mentioned, criminal elements are involved. When you are betting online, whether on 4D, Toto, horse-racing and so on, there are bookies who collect the monies. There are agents who are there to promote. There are agents who are there to extend unlicensed moneylending facilities. The real issues that we are concerned with do not really go away. Are we seeking to encourage? No. That is not our position. Our position is not to encourage. Our position is recognising a reality, which is that there are Singaporeans in that space. We are concerned that the numbers may grow as the space continues to proliferate and as the Internet continues to grow in terms of accessibility. So, for those who are there, we can at least provide some form of a safer space to manage that.”
“We know that there are people gambling because there have been people and associated individuals arrested as a result of gambling illegally. For those who are actually gambling online, when there are no safeguards, no safety valves, no safety measures put in place, they are being exposed to very real dangers. One of the biggest concerns we have is criminal elements. What we do see, and we have arrested, is that it is not just the virtual gambling space, it extends to a very real world problem. There are punters, bookies, Page: 12 runners, agents collecting bet monies and extending credit lines. A lot of them, unfortunately, are involved with syndicated crime. It is not trivial from that perspective as well. That is a real thing that is happening today in the course of the last many months after the Remote Gambling Act was put in place. How do we best deal with it? We believe that having a tightly managed space with social safeguards would help, but if it turns out that there continue to be issues, we will have to take a look at how best to deal with this. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask two supplementary questions. The Minister just mentioned that there are lots of ills of gambling,we cannot track and cannot seal it totally online. I would like to ask this: by giving the licences to two operators, how does the Government solve the problem of online gambling? Are you not encouraging more people to go online gambling by making it legitimate? The second question is: comparing total ban and now we have two operators who are licensed, what are the benefits that you are trying to achieve?”
“Mdm Speaker, I am not sure how the Member believes that we would be able to know exactly how many people are illegally gambling online. We are not able to track all of them. Those that we are able to track, we have taken some operations. MHA will be able to elaborate on some of the details and actions against those who have violated the laws. What we have are indicators in terms of the overall market and how it is growing globally. This is not just a problem that is faced by a local market. The online gambling space is international. What we have are participation rates from surveys, from when we survey Singaporeans on how many of them are engaged in some form of gambling and, for those who are gambling, how many of them would engage in some form of online gambling. Obviously, when they do that, they would be in an illegal space. That is something we will track. But in terms of his specific position, that we have been able to know the specific numbers in the course of the last one year plus, we would not be able to do that. Those who are gambling illegally online, we are not able to track every single one of them. We would track in terms of survey numbers; we look at how things develop. I would highlight this: our objective is to see how best we can look after the well-being of our people. I know that from a specific individual perspective, we may like to take a stronger position and say that we ban it and send a very clear signal that way. We share the same objective. The issue now is how to deal with a very real and practical problem, which is that people are gambling online. Even with the ban being put in place, with MHA taking very active steps to ban new sites coming online, it is the nature of the Internet that we are not able to completely seal off that space.”
“Mdm Speaker, firstly, with regard to online gambling, today, it is very difficult to track the specific numbers online. We do carry out surveys to have a sense of the number of people who are gambling and how many of them are gambling online. We will track the Page: 11 numbers and see how those compare over time, but we do not have definitive numbers of who exactly are online today. We are not able to fully track that. We will track in terms of survey, in terms of responses and see how those numbers grow and we will assess the situation accordingly. Similarly, with gambling addiction, we find through surveys, the overall numbers have largely remained quite stable. We do see more coming forward to seek treatment. That, we believe, is also due to greater awareness and public education. Again, in terms of data, as we begin to track some of these things more definitely, we are able to then detect trends and patterns to see how we can deal with it accordingly. If we need to tighten measures and review policies, we will continue to do so.”
“Another features popular getai emcee Wang Lei relating his struggles with problem gambling and the importance of family support in helping him recover from problem gambling. While the Government puts in place stringent safeguards, complemented with NCPG's public education efforts, personal responsibility as well as family and community support are still essential to address this complex issue of problem gambling. Essentially, what we are doing is to put in place a robust set of laws to have a tightly managed space with safeguards, having an extensive effort as much as possible to raise awareness and have public education and provide support measures for those with these issues. We all understand the ills that come with this. We all would like to take a strong position with regard to this and we do take that, although we also recognise the reality is that, given the Internet space, we would not be able to completely remove the possibility of people gambling online. We believe that having a tightly managed space with safeguards put in place would help at least to ameliorate some of those concerns, even as we continue to work hard on the other measures in place.”
“To prevent over-spending and addiction, all account holders will be required to set a daily expenditure limit and funding limit before they are allowed to place bets. Funding limit means the maximum amount that can be transferred or deposited into the account per calendar day, while expenditure limit means the maximum amount that can be used for betting per calendar day. Once they have reached their expenditure limits, they will no longer be allowed to place any bets for the rest of the day. As an additional safeguard, any request to increase their expenditure limit will only take place the next day, while requests to reduce their expenditure limit will be effective immediately. To facilitate informed play, the EOs are required to display responsible gambling messages prominently, such as the time and amount spent, the total win/losses for the day, and alert the individual if he has reached or exceeded 75% of his daily expenditure limit. Lastly, the EOs will be required to submit all advertising and promotion (A&P) materials to MSF for approval. Advertisements and promotions must not induce gambling. NCPG has been active in rolling out prevention programmes to complement the stringent safeguards for remote gambling. For example, NCPG partners TOUCH Cyber Wellness and Fei Yue Community Services to deliver cyber wellness roadshows and talks to students and parents. NCPG also launches public education campaigns and videos to highlight the risks of problem gambling. One of the recent videos has a backdrop of sports betting and illegal online betting, to educate youths on spotting the signs of problem gambling and helping their friends in need.”
“In that Act, there were the provisions for the exempt operator regime, because we believe that even though we may take a very robust position with regard to managing this space, we are all familiar with the Internet – it is impossible to completely regulate it. There will be ways to bypass – by VPN, proxy sites and so on – for those who wish to engage in online gambling. We recognise the reality. While we take a very robust position, having a tightly managed, controlled space with safeguards put in place would allow those who continue to gamble online to have a space where at least some level of management can take place. That is the approach that we are taking with this issue at hand today. We take a whole-of-Government approach. MSF works very closely with MHA to develop a range of social safeguards for the exempt operators (EOs) to implement, to protect young persons and other vulnerable persons from the harms of remote gambling. To prevent youth gambling, all account holders must be at least 21 years old before they can open a remote gambling account. The EOs have to carry out stringent checks to verify the identity of the applicant, such as a face-to-face verification at physical outlets with a valid NRIC/FIN and screening of existing casino exclusions with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), before an account can be opened. Page: 10 To protect financially vulnerable individuals, persons who have been excluded from casinos due to family objection or their financial situation will not be allowed to open an individual account. Individuals can also apply to exclude themselves from remote gambling.”
“Mdm Speaker, before I answer the Member's question in full, I thought it would be useful to provide a setting because this and the next Parliamentary Question (PQ) involve related issues. Firstly, from the Government's perspective, we are very clear about the issues concerning problem gambling. For my Ministry, we see the extent of the problems because we deal with the individuals and their families who suffer from it. This is the reality that we grapple with. We do not under-estimate the impact that problem gambling has on individuals as well as families. We are not in favour of gambling; we do not encourage it; and we do not want to promote it amongst our people. We share fairly similar perspectives that many Members have with regard to this issue. However, taking that position does not preclude the fact that gambling will exist. It is something that others who engage in it have different viewpoints on. Like it or not, it is something that people participate in, in some form or other. By banning it, what will happen? Will it just drive it underground? Our basic concern really is this: as far as remote gambling is concerned, it is an area that is growing. We look at what is happening around the world; it is proliferating; it is growing significantly. In Singapore, where the Internet penetration rate is particularly significant and smart devices abound, there is a very high probability that this is something that would become more of an issue with time. We share very significant concerns with regard to that, which is why two years ago, we debated in this House the Remote Gambling Act.”
“The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) recognises that Student Care Centres (SCCs) are an important care option for working parents who need after-school care support for their school-going children between seven to 14 years old. Today, there are more than 400 SCCs in schools and the community which are registered with MSF to administer student care fee subsidies. These SCCs provide more than 30,000 places, which is an increase of around 30% from the 23,000 places in 2013. Overall, there are enough student care places in the sector to meet demand, with most registered SCCs reporting vacancies. There could be higher demand in some locations due to the demographics of the area. MSF and the Ministry of Education (MOE) will continue to monitor the demand for SCC places in schools and the community and improve the accessibility of SCCs. MOE has announced plans to set up an SCC in every primary school by 2020 and has committed to expanding the capacity of existing school-based SCCs at a pace that does not compromise quality. MSF regularly reviews student care fee subsidies to ensure that student care remains affordable. In January this year, we raised the monthly household income criteria from $3,500 to $4,000, and the monthly per capita income from $875 to $1,000, to allow more families to receive the subsidies. We have also increased the amount of subsidies per month by up to $30. With the subsidies, families at the lowest income tier can pay as little as $5 per month for the fees. As the changes were implemented recently, MSF will assess the need for further enhancements in future reviews.”
“A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person who is at least 21 years of age (a donor), to voluntarily appoint another person (a donee) to make decisions on his behalf when he loses mental capacity. When completing an LPA, the LPA form must be witnessed and certified by an LPA Certificate Issuer. The purpose of the Certificate Issuer is to certify that the donor understands the purpose of the LPA and the scope of the authority conferred under it, as well as ensure that there is no fraud or undue pressure used to induce the donor to create an LPA. A Certificate Issuer can be any one of the following professionals in Singapore, namely, a medical practitioner accredited by the Public Guardian, a practising Singapore qualified lawyer, or a registered psychiatrist. As of 31 August 2016, there are 364 medical practitioners accredited as Certificate Issuers. The list of accredited medical practitioners can be found on the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) website, www.publicguardian.gov.sg. This includes the addresses and contact numbers of their clinics. We recently introduced an updated list which categorises the Certificate Issuers based on the geographic location of their clinics, for easier search of a Certificate Issuer. In addition, the public can call in to the OPG helpline for assistance on identifying the accredited doctors in their vicinity. Currently, all accredited doctors are issued with an accreditation letter informing them of their appointment as well as an LPA Accredited Certificate Issuer decal. These accredited doctors are encouraged to display the decal at their clinic, as this will serve to increase the visibility of Certificate Issuers around the various neighbourhoods.”
“Government benefits that support the growth and development of children are given to all Singaporean children, regardless of their legitimacy status. All Singaporean children have access to social assistance, education and healthcare subsidies, as well as infant care and childcare subsidies. Children of unwed parents born from 1 September 2016 are also now eligible for Child Development Account (CDA) benefits. This further supports unwed parents' efforts to care for their child and enhance the child outcomes. A child’s right to be maintained by his or her parent is also laid out in the Women's Charter. Under the Charter, parents are obliged to provide accommodation, clothing, food and education to their children, taking into account their means and regardless of the child's legitimacy status. Having said that, an illegitimate child will not acquire citizenship by birth if his mother is not a citizen of Singapore. He will not be eligible for the Baby Bonus cash gift and his mother cannot enjoy tax reliefs which are provided in respect of children born within marriage. In the area of inheritance, an illegitimate child would inherit a part or the whole of his mother's estate if the mother dies intestate with no surviving legitimate children. Similarly, the mother would inherit a part or the whole of her illegitimate child's estate if she is living when the child dies intestate. Parents who want to leave something for their illegitimate child should make a will. Where benefits or laws differentiate on legitimacy status, they reflect the Government's desire to promote strong marriages. Parenthood within marriage is the desired and prevailing social norm, which we want to continue to promote as this is key to having strong families.”
“For those in NS, full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) are given a monthly allowance to support their basic expenses. Financial assistance schemes are also available to NSFs whose families face financial hardship. For foreign wives who are widowed or divorced and have sole custody of young Singaporean children, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) would generally facilitate their continued stay in Singapore through a renewable Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP). This would enable them to care for and raise their Singaporean children here.”
“Safeguarding the welfare of our children in a family breakdown is paramount. This is especially so when the family circumstances render the child more vulnerable, such as those which Ms Kuik has raised. Parents, both fathers and mothers, have a joint duty, under the law, to maintain and provide for their children. This duty subsists until the child has at least attained the age of 21 years. In situations of family breakdown, both parents still have a duty to provide for their children. If the mother is the parent who has care of the child, and the father is not providing for their child, the mother can apply for maintenance on behalf of the child. This is the case, even if the mother is not a Singaporean or a Permanent Resident. For divorcing parties, the Divorce Support Specialist Agencies will provide counselling support and help to address the immediate needs of the parties and their children. After the divorce, the Divorce Support Specialist Agencies may refer the family to a Family Service Centre (FSC) for continued monitoring. For families who are financially in need, the Government provides a range of financial assistance and social services. The assistance is also available to low-income single parents from transnational families, and dependents of single breadwinners serving National Service. These families can approach the Social Service Offices (SSOs) for an assessment of their needs. The SSOs will work closely with other Government agencies and FSCs to provide and coordinate other forms of assistance and socioemotional support, if so required. Children in our schools can receive help from the Ministry of Education for free textbooks and uniforms as well as to pay their school fees.”
“In any case, persons with symptoms cannot transmit the disease through activities, such as sharing utensils or shaking hands. Transmission is limited to close and prolonged contact with persons showing symptoms of TB. Childcare centres and schools generally abide by the precautionary measures and regulatory safeguards. They also work closely with the TB Control Unit, and ECDA or MOE to ensure the safety of children.”
“Under the Child Care Centres Regulations, new staff members need to undergo a chest X-ray and be certified to be free from active tuberculosis (TB) by a registered medical practitioner before they can start work in centres. Centres are also advised to monitor for any persistent coughing among their staff members and children to allow for early diagnosis and treatment. Childcare centres are required by law to immediately report any known or suspected TB cases to parents of all children enrolled in their childcare centre, a health officer, and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). Similar precautionary measures are implemented in schools, which are required to pre-screen their staff before they start work, and report known TB cases to the Ministry of Education (MOE). Upon diagnosing a case of active TB, the TB Control Unit conducts free contact tracing among children and staff members to identify those at risk of contracting TB. These individuals will then be offered free TB screening. The Ministry of Health also notifies ECDA and MOE of cases in childcare centres and schools respectively. Meanwhile, staff members who test positive for active TB are not permitted to enter the childcare centre or school until they are certified to be fit for return by a registered medical practitioner. Childcare centres and schools can continue operations as long as they exclude persons who show symptoms of TB, such as persistent coughing, from their centres. Persons without symptoms do not pose further risk of infection to others. Most persons with the latent form of TB also do not develop the infectious form. Furthermore, persons with active TB rapidly become non-infectious once they start their treatment.”
“We track the number of suicides on an overall basis. We look at suicide rates of the different age groups. In terms of composition, the number of youths, basically those in the 10 to 19 age group, is relatively low. I do not have the data for the international numbers. I can come back to the Member on that.”
“Mdm Speaker, I will leave it to MOE. They will be following up with a response subsequently but I would say that it would not be fair to highlight one specific example to reflect how our teachers approach these issues generally. I think teachers are trained, as far as possible, to pick up some of these concerns. When these are flagged out in students, the teachers generally would refer them to the counsellors. There is a system in place in MOE. It is important for us to look at the entire system. From time to time, we would want to see how best to improve it and that is something we continue to want to do.”
“Mdm Speaker, we do keep track of efforts that are being put in in other countries and we are always open to pick up good practices. We are working with the various agencies. Our numbers, admittedly, while they are low, like I said, every suicide case is one too many. We have been tracking the numbers over the years. They have been relatively stable, fluctuating in the last 10 years. For example, in 2015, the numbers were a bit higher but no discernible patterns as of now. We are coming together to undertake a deeper study to understand whether there are new developments. We are surveying the various practices around the world to see what else we could put in place.”
“The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) conducts programmes to teach teenagers how to identify suicide warning signs and where to seek help. SOS also runs a 24-hour crisis hotline, manned by trained adult volunteers, to counsel persons in distress. Counselling such persons requires relevant training, skills, emotional maturity and understanding of life's challenges. I think it would not be reasonable to expect teenagers to possess all these prerequisites to take crisis calls. For better awareness and dedication of resources, there should be just one hotline for such calls. Teenagers can play a role, certainly as friends, as fellow students, to look out for tell-tale signs. Or if we are concerned about the well-being of our friends, do let our teachers know or let the family know. Several agencies such as MOH, IMH, MOE and my Ministry, have come together to further understand the triggers for suicide in the young and to devise effective strategies, including public education on prevention, towards building better mental resilience among our youths. I think this will better inform inter-agency efforts to address the stressors and influences that drive young persons towards self-harm. I would end by saying that all of us have a part to play; parents and family members to provide a supportive environment at home. All of us, as relatives, as friends, if we do pick up indicators that give us concern, do flag it up to the relevant authorities so that we can follow up. It is better to be safe than sorry.”