Seah Kian Peng on Adoption of Children Bill

The Adoption of Children Bill debated in Parliament on Monday (May 9) prioritises prospective adoptive parents who have stronger ties to Singapore, However, MP Seah Kian Peng questioned if this threshold was sufficiently high in cases of joint applications where both parties are Singapore permanent residents. He felt that at least one applicant should be a Singapore citizen. Mr Seah also said “more is better” when assessing would-be adopters. He asked if more testimonials and references could be required, on top of specific performance indicators. He also suggested imposing annual affirmations and declarations on applicants who want to adopt, to ensure that their assessment stays current throughout the lengthy process.