3 March 2017 – Paternity leave

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the MSF how many eligible working fathers have applied for a full week of paid paternity leave in 2016; and what is the percentage of applications from the Civil Service. Read their response.

20 February 2017 – Forensic medical examination for sexual assault victims

Mr Chen Show Mao asked MHA whether victims of sex crimes are required to make a police report before they can get a forensic medical examination done and, if so, why; and whether this examination is only available at three hospitals in Singapore and, if so, why is this not more widely available. Read MHA’s response.

8 February 2017 – Eldershield

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked MOH about the total ElderShield premiums paid; total surplus collected by the ElderShield insurers; total surplus returned to members as premium rebates; and payout ratio and profit margin of each of the ElderShield insurers. Read their response.

6 February 2017 – Maternity leave

Ms Sun Xueling asked the MOM in 2016, how many women have notified the Ministry that they have been asked by their employer not to return to work after the end of their maternity leave and whether this number shows an increasing trend in the past two years. Read their response here. 

6 February 2017 – Government paid adoption leave

Mr Louis Ng asked the Prime Minister whether the Government-Paid Adoption Leave (GPAL) can (i) be converted into shared leave which parents can allocate between themselves as they choose, instead of being open to mothers only and (ii) be extended to parents (both mothers and fathers) who adopt children above the age of 12 months old. Read their reply.

6 February 2017 – Specialist team for suicide cases

Mr Kok Heng Leun asked MSF whether the Ministry will consider having a specialist team who provides psychological support and mental health expertise to go with the police when the police responds to cases of attempted suicide. Read MSF’s reply.

6 February 2017 – LTVP and foreign spouses

Mr Kok Heng Leun asked MOH whether the Ministry will consider giving Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) holders who are married to Singapore citizens, similar health subsidies as LTVP Plus holders. Read MOH’s reply.

6 February 2017 – Eldercare leave

Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked the Minister for Health on the outcome of the Ministry’s study on legislating eldercare leave for employees; the barriers that impede legislation of eldercare leave; and how many working caregivers do not have eldercare leave and how many working caregivers quit work to care for an elderly family member fulltime. Read MOH’s reply.

6 February 2017 – Income cap for rental housing

Mr Louis Ng asked MND how many applicants above the income cap for rental flats have applied for rental flats and how many of such applications have been approved. Read MND’s reply.

6 February 2017 – Adults with disabilities

Mr Darryl David asked MSF what options are available for the long-term care of adults with intellectual disabilities when the parents/caregivers of these adults pass away or are unable to care for them any more. Read MSF’s reply.

6 February 2017 – Childcare

Mr Ang Hin Kee asked MSF whether more support can be given to parents who have to make alternative arrangements when their children are unable to attend school and how effective has the Ministry been in tackling challenges faced by parents who have insufficient childcare leave. Read MSF’s reply.

6 February 2017 – Registry of sex offenders

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked MHA how many cases of child sex offences have been reported in the past 5 years, what’s being done to reduce such crimes and whether there are plans to create a sex offender registry with limited access given to agencies and communities that can benefit from the information. Read MHA’s reply.

9 January 2017 – Income cap for rental of public housing

Mr Louis Ng asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider raising the current income cap of $1,500 for public rental housing in view of the rising cost of living and the higher income caps of Government subsidies such as the child care/infant care subsidy and ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance. Read MND’s reply.

9 January 2017 – Attempted suicide 

Mr Leon Perera asked MHA of the evidence that suggests that section 309 of the Penal Code deters attempted suicides; and efforts taken by the Government to ensure that this law does not deter those who entertain suicidal thoughts from seeking help. Read MHA’s reply.

9 November 2016 – Protections against abuse of IMH staff

Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) can have a police post with police vigilance to protect and safeguard the interests of IMH staff who may be threatened or subjected to physical abuse by unwell patients in a high-risk environment. Read MHA’s reply here.

7 November 2016 – Decriminalisation of suicide

Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked the Minister for Home Affairs on Singapore’s support of the criminalisation of suicide and the rehabilitation framework available for those charged with attempted suicide. Read MHA’s reply here.

7 November 2016 – Treatment of those in custody for attempted suicide

Mr Louis Ng asked the MHA about the measures used to arrest those who were taken into custody for attempted suicide, the duration of their lock-up, impact on their well-being and referrals to SOS and IMH. Read MHA’s reply here.

7 November 2016 – Serious Sexual Crimes Branch

Mr Chen Show Mao asked the MHA about the number of officers assigned to the Serious Sexual Crimes Branch of the CID, staffing rationale, annual number of cases and criteria for referrals. Read MHA’s reply here.

10 October 2016 – Arrests made for suicide attempts

MP Louis Ng had posed a question on how many arrests have been made in 2015 for attempted suicides, police protocol and trainings for such arrests and if the Ministry will consider having police suicide prevention practices that do not involve arrests. Read the written reply in full here.

In 2014, 901 people in Singapore were arrested for attempted suicide. Astonishingly, that figure is higher than arrests for virtually every other major offence in this chart, including outrage of modesty, rioting, serious hurt, housebreaking, robbery, snatch theft, rape, and theft of motor vehicle.

Source: https://data.gov.sg/dataset/islandwide-persons-arrested-for-selected-major-offences

In our recent report, we called for the reform of suicide laws and the improvement of support systems for those in distress – specifically, it seeks the reform and eventual repeal of Section 309 of the Penal Code, which makes attempted suicide an offence.

The report includes accounts from women that AWARE spoke to, who had negative experiences with law enforcement action related to Section 309, including traumatising investigations, fear of seeking help and mocking, unsupportive officers. Read our report here.

13 September 2016 – Foreign Spouses policies

There have been many questions of concern raised in parliament about the denial of PR status for non-Singaporean parents of citizen children. NMP Kuik Shiao-Yin had asked: what are the precise circumstances that justify giving a child citizenship but denying their parents PR status? When would you put the parent-child relationship at such risk?

No specific answer was given. The Ministry said that for divorced or widowed foreign parents, the state “would generally facilitate their continued stay… through a renewable LTVP or LTVP+, to allow them to care for their children here”. This is an extremely begrudging recognition of the value of the parent-child bond and caregiving. What happens to the parent when the child grows up?