No spike in number of children abused to death: MSF
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Since June 2020, the MSF has trained over 7,100 people to spot and report signs of family violence.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ST FILE
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Singapore - There is no spike in the number of children being abused to death by their loved ones, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has strengthened protocols to look out for vulnerable children under the state’s care.
Since November 2020, MSF has “further strengthened” protocols on information-sharing and coordination with various agencies to look out for such children to ensure their well-being, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said in a written reply on Tuesday to a parliamentary question by Mr Melvin Yong (Radin Mas).
He added that the improvements include specific procedures to guide agencies to trace a child’s whereabouts if he has not been seen regularly in the community.
Mr Yong had asked MSF for updates on safeguards to ensure the safety of children in foster care who have returned home to their parents and for the length of time MSF continues to check on their well-being.
On Sept 19, a 35-year-old man was sentenced to 21½ years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane for causing his two-year-old daughter’s death.
To cover up the crime, he and his wife burned Umaisyah’s body in a metal pot
Umaisyah had been placed in foster care since she was three to four months old as her father was in a drug rehabilitation centre, while his wife was assessed to be unable to take care of the girl.
She was returned to them about two years later, but the father abused her until she died in 2014.
The couple spun various lies to hide her death, including to an Education Ministry officer who contacted them to find out why she was not registered for Primary 1.
The crime was uncovered only five years later when Umaisyah’s uncle found the pot and showed it to his friends, who reported the discovery to the police.
Replying to Mr Yong’s question, Mr Masagos said foster care officers will continue to work with MSF’s community partners after the abused child returns to his family from foster care. They will monitor the child and his family, and ensure regular safety checks are made.
Such support is given for a year or more after the child is reunited with his family. The exact duration for each case depends on the family’s needs.
He added that since June 2020, MSF has trained more than 7,100 people to spot and report signs of family violence.
Mr Masagos said incidences of child abuse remain low, but he did not give a figure.
He said: “The recent incidents presented before the courts had occurred in different years and do not represent a spike in child death cases due to abuse.
“Nonetheless, any abuse is one case too many... MSF will continue our efforts to extend our training and outreach and continually review our safeguards to ensure the safety of vulnerable children.”
At least three other cases where a child died after being abused by a parent or parent’s partner were heard in court in 2023.
An 11-year-old girl was beaten to death by her stepfather in 2020
Among other charges, the man pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide
In July, a 43-year-old man was tried for murdering his five-year-old daughter in 2017.
In 2022, a 30-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane for murdering his former girlfriend’s son in 2019.
In September, the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal
