Woman charged with giving false information during P1 registration to have daughter enrolled in school
The 41-year-old woman is said to have lied to the school's principal and vice principal about her residential address.
The State Courts building in Singapore. (File photo: CNA TODAY)
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SINGAPORE: A 41-year-old woman was charged in court on Thursday (Jun 5) with giving false information in order to enrol her daughter in a school in the north of Singapore during the Primary 1 registration in 2023.
The Singaporean woman was handed one amalgamated charge of giving false information to a public servant and two counts under the National Registration Act and National Registration Regulations.
She cannot be named due to a gag order imposed by the court to protect her daughter's identity.
Between Jun 24 and Sep 20, 2024, the woman allegedly gave false information about her residential address to the school's principal and vice principal so that they would continue allowing her daughter to be enrolled in the school under Phase 2C of the 2023 Primary 1 registration exercise.
The given address was less than 2km away from the school.
During P1 registration, priority is given to Singapore citizens and permanent residents who live closer to the preferred school when there are more applicants than vacancies, according to the Ministry of Education.
The address used for Primary 1 registration should be the child's parents' official residential address, as reflected on their NRICs.
The woman's two charges under the National Registration Act and National Registration Regulations are for giving false information when she reported a change in address to a registration officer.
She is said to have done so on two occasions, Jun 17, 2023 and Jul 3, 2024.
On both occasions, the woman gave the same address that she provided to the school principal and vice principal.
Appearing in court unrepresented, the woman said she will plead guilty and will not be engaging a lawyer.
Her plead guilty mention has been fixed for Jul 18.
In a parliamentary reply in 2018, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that in the last 10 years, there were fewer than 10 cases of parents falsifying information for the purpose of Primary 1 registration.
It added then that in cases where the parent is convicted of the charge, the child who was previously registered in a school based on false information would be transferred to another school with available vacancies.
In 2018, a couple was fined for similarly giving false information to enrol their child in a school during the Primary 1 registration exercise.
In response to CNA's queries, an MOE spokesperson said that on average, around nine cases of non-compliance with the P1 registration framework were reported to the ministry annually between 2020 and 2024.
The spokesperson said that MOE will look into every report of non-compliance with the P1 registration framework.
"Upon investigation, if a child is found to have been registered in a school based on false information, such as the use of an address solely for registration purposes without residing there, or if the 30-month stay requirement had not been fulfilled, MOE will transfer the child to another school with vacancies near where the child is staying," said the spokesperson.
MOE said it retains sole discretion in the choice of the school for such cases. It added that such cases will also be referred to the police for investigation as it is an offence to give false information to a public officer.
If convicted of giving false information to the registration officer, the woman may be jailed for up to two years, or fined up to S$3,000 (US$2,300), or both.
If convicted of giving false information to a public servant, she may be jailed for up to two years, or fined, or both.
