PAP gov held hostage by religious leader?
I think that SG gov has explain/ correct my suspicions:
1) MCYS: Was this dept informed? Why was this man allowed to continue such illicit activities? Is having 10 unregistered wives legal in SG/ by Muslim law? (Assuming half his pr sch kids are <10yr- at least 29 kids were born in SG). Was there a moral danger to his children requiring institutionalized care? (
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/182979.asp ) Why were both the Ministry's message about family planning and institutional penalties unheeded?
http://sg-bloggerbee.blogspot.com/2007/04/penalty-for-having-more-children.html . Was the problem too big to handle, was the peaceful family considered a minor problem? How were social workers involved?
2) Medifund: Did the family (whose expenses exceed their income by about $1,000/ mth despite subsidies) get further child delivery subsidies and at what rate (@ $1,057.80/ delivery?).
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/181132.asp 3) HDB: Upon what criteria could the family obtain 3 'jumbo' flats 10yr ago? Was MCYS informed?
4) MOE: How are the children doing in school, How did the Dec 2003- June 2005 rapes get detected so late/ were the 2 abortions reported? Besides pocket money, free textbooks and school fees, was there a need to highlight
5) ENV: Did your officers inspect Marsiling flats for mosquitoes in the last 10 years? If so, did they find the family's living conditions healthy?
6) MP for Marsiling: When U made your 10yrs of walk abouts, did you notice the din? What did you think of the many children's shoes at the door way.
http://askhdb.hdb.gov.sg/ : "You must form a proper family nucleus under one of the following schemes"
http://www.gov.sg/ SG gov: “Integrity, Service, Excellence”
PAP claims to be governing this country well, however, there seems a need for further improvement in the social & moral situation of Singaporeans.
ST- 08Apr07: How 10 wives, 64 kids live together:
From using a minivan for transport to buying rice by the gunny sack, the family members of the man who was jailed for raping six of his daughters live in an unusual but well organised life in two jumbo HDB flats.
Nur Diana Suhaimi and Vincent Leow report.
"When we cook, it's like cooking for a wedding. Our pots are at least twice the size of normal pots." - One of the wives, on the scale of some of the household chores
At least two wives will take the minivan to do grocery shopping on weekends. When they reach home, the children will troop downstairs to help carry the items home. A neighbour, said: 'They buy rice by the gunny sack and about four sacks each time.'
They have a system for everything, which once included taking turns spend the night with their husband. Before he was jailed, one wife was told to prepare a 'sleeping roster' to ensure there was no favoritism.
'When the boys play soccer on weekends, among themselves, they can easily form two complete teams.' -A neighbour on the seventh floor
WHEN they first moved in 10 years ago, they were the talk of the neighbourhood - a family so large they occupied b three "jumbo" seven-room HDB flats.
Whenever the head of this huge household wanted to address his 10 wives and 64 children, he stood on a platform and used a microphone.
Then last year, the family became the talk of the entire country for different reasons, when the 46-year-old patriarch was sentenced to 32 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping six of his teenage daughters.
Now three of his wives also face jail time for abetting him in the rape. They will be sentenced in 10 days' time. Two of them face a possible jail term of up to five years, while the third could be put away for up to 24 years.
Neither they nor the father can be I named, to protect the identities of the children.
Although the head of the family is now in jail, life still has to go on for the 74 family members.
But how does a family of this size function? Through court papers and interviews with neighbours and shop- keepers, The Sunday Times pieced together a portrait of their life. '
Of the 64 children - 33 boys and 31 girls - 21 are in secondary school, 28 in primary school and 12 in preschool. The other three children are under three years old.
Following the father's conviction, the family's transport business, which once boasted a fleet of 11 minibuses and vans, collapsed. There is now one bus left.
The wives were saddled with a $200,000 debt. Three of them, who acted as guarantors for the vehicle loans, have been made bankrupt.
Most of the wives are in their late 30s, the oldest being 42. They were all between 17 and 20 years old when they got married. All 10 marriages, which were registered in Thailand, took place within a two-year period between 1988 and 1989. They are not recognized under Singapore law.
Five wives work to support the family, pulling in a combined income of $6,700. Still, court papers said the family's expenses exceed their income by about $1,000.
To supplement their income, the family has rented out one of their jumbo flats and receives financial assistance from the Ministry of Education, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and voluntary welfare group Care Corner, in the form of food vouchers, pocket money, free textbooks and school fees.
Despite the financial difficulties, neighbours said the family runs like a well-oiled machine.
Mr Richard Tan, a businessman, (who lives in the same Marsiling block as the family, said: "There may be so many people in the family but they are very systematic and well organised. The wives share the workload and the children are always kept occupied." The five non-working wives split the household chores.
They have a system' for everything, which once included taking turns to spend the night with their husband.
Before he was jailed, one wife was told to prepare a "sleeping roster" to ensure that there was no favoritism.
In fact, neighbours said they were struck by the fact that the 10 women were able to co-exist so peacefully. They said they have never heard them quarrelling.
Full story pls see:
http://groups.google.com.sg/group/soc.culture.singapore/msg/2ade7c1a29846dea?hl=en&