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
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&