Last Sunday's report on female inmates writing stories for their children would have tugged at the heartstrings of many, especially young mothers.

It made me wonder if Singapore as a developed nation can do better for these young mothers who have strayed and are now imprisoned and kept away from their young children.

Allowing them to touch their young children only twice a year can be deemed cruel, and is unbecoming of Singapore as a caring nation.

In many developed countries, there are many mother-child relationship programmes for women inmates and their young children.

These programmes focus on mother and child bonding, especially for younger children, and serve to give them as much time together as possible, with special facilities installed within the prison, and, for the deserving cases, even some time outside prison and in their homes.

For a mother, these programmes would encourage them on their road to reformation.

Certain conditions would be required for such programmes to be successful here. Mothers would need to prove they would not be a danger to society and have the potential to reform and play a useful role in society. They would need to be the primary caregiver for their children, who should be below a certain age and would benefit most from the mother-child bonding.

A reformed and remorseful young mother can impart good character traits to her young children to grow into upright citizens.

Wong Bheet Huan