Singapore A Bad Place For Kids As Child Abuse Cases Soar

There was a sharp spike in the number of child abuse cases investigated by Singapore authorities in 2021, Shermaine Ang reported for The Straits Times.

Photo Insert: The current rise in child abuse cases in Singapore follows that of 2020, which saw the highest number of cases in a decade.

This follows the rise in 2020, which saw the highest number of cases in a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). The MSF's Child Protective Service (CPS) investigated 2,141 cases of abuse in 2021, 63 percent more than the 1,313 cases in 2020.

Neglect cases numbering 910 made up the bulk of the investigations in 2021 and saw the sharpest rise from 2020, more than doubling from 375 cases that year. Cases of neglect include those where children were poorly supervised or experienced emotional abuse or medical neglect.

Desmurn Lim, director of charity Montfort Care’s Big Love program, told The Straits Times previously that some neglected and underfed children injured themselves when they tried to do chores or cook for themselves.

Child sexual abuse cases also jumped 70 percent from 261 cases investigated in 2020 to 443 cases in 2021 - an 11-year high. Physical abuse cases rose by 16 percent, from 677 cases investigated in 2020 to 788 cases in 2021.

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