Louis Ng on Maintenance of Parents (Amendment) Bill

In Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 4), MP Louis Ng asked about the involvement of the child in a parent’s application for permission to seek maintenance where there are records or purported records of abandonment, abuse or neglect. He asked why the application must be dealt with without informing or involving the child, unless the child was already involved in prior conciliation and is willing to participate. Mr Ng said he understands the need to avoid re-traumatising the child. However, he said the child may wish to have the opportunity to decide whether or not to participate. He also asked how the Commissioner or Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents can determine if there is a good arguable case if the child does not even know that the application for permission has been made. Mr Ng also highlighted the potential problem of under-reported child abuse cases, especially before 2015 when the Ministry of Social and Family Development introduced more rigorous screening and training for its staff. He asked if the standard of proof for pre-2015 child abuse cases could be adjusted to take this into account.