My husband recently saw a group of children playing football at the amphitheatre near an HDB block.

One boy kicked the ball and accidentally hit a man passing by. The man was angry and went over to the boy, scolded him, pulled his shirt and pointed at the "no football" sign.

He proceeded to call the police, who came and told the children to "go to the field to play football".

The problem is, where is the field?

The children cannot play at the nearby school's field as it is not open to the public unless you pay for it.

They also cannot go to the stadium's field as that is meant for football clubs.

They cannot go to the street soccer court as it is a 10- to 15-minute walk away and their parents cannot keep an eye on them when they are so far from home.

While the policeman was right to tell the children to play football at a field, how can they do that if they cannot find a field?

The amphitheatre is used just twice a year - during the Chinese New Year and Moon Cake Festival celebrations. Since it is underused, why can't children play football there for an hour every evening?

Karen Chua Li Hoon (Ms)