This pre-schooler is a tiny terror. And his antics have repeatedly shocked neighbours, with some wondering why no adult family member is supervising him.
One worried neighbour even went to the extent of filing a police report for the boy’s safety.
According to residents, the boy and his younger sister would hang precariously “halfway out” of their third-storey flat kitchen window and throw water on people and stray cats below.
On one occasion, neighbours from the opposite block were so concerned that they yelled at the children, which alerted an adult in the flat who then pulled them in, said one neighbour, Mrs Amy Lee, 75, a retiree.
On other occasions, the boy, sporting a crew cut and wearing the uniform of a childcare centre, was seen jumping up and down on the bonnets and tops of parked cars at the open-air housing estate carpark.
He even helped himself to some tools in the back of a parked lorry after climbing into it.
The neighbour who filed the police report, a 53-year-old housewife who declined to be named, said she tried to stop him.
“I saw the boy playing in the carpark a few times and every time, there was no adult was with him. I’m concerned because it is a carpark and drivers may not see him,” she told The New Paper.
But when her attempts to stop him from climbing onto cars and jumping on them fell on deaf ears, she took a video of his antics on March 3.
In the clip, the boy is seen climbing onto a black Volvo and jumping and stomping on the bonnet. He is also seen running towards and climbing into the back of a white pickup, where he helps himself to some tools.
POLICE REPORT
Armed with the video, the neighbour made the police report.
She said: “This is not a place for a kid his age to run around. He might get knocked down or worse – get driven off by a stranger. It’s so dangerous.”
Police confirmed that a report had been lodged and that the matter had been referred to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
A check with the boy’s childcare centre revealed that children under its care are not released without a parent or caregiver present.
A spokesman for the centre said: “Only nominated adults registered with the centre are permitted to pick up the children. They are also required to sign on the centre’s attendance register when they do so.”
The New Paper
When TNP visited the boy’s home on March 4 and informed his father about the neighbours’ concerns, he denied there was no adult supervision when his son was playing in the carpark.
“I was there. I had just picked him up from childcare and I was walking him home,” he said.
But when asked why he did not stop his son’s carpark antics, the man only said “he was punished”, before shutting the door.
TNP understands that the boy’s father recently suffered a stroke and the mother is now the sole breadwinner, leaving her three children in the care of her mother.
Last Wednesday, TNP approached the boy’s grandmother after she had picked him and his sister up from the childcare centre.
She said the boy “is very playful and extremely active”.
“There are times he wouldn’t even listen to his father,” she said, adding that the police and social workers had come to the house to speak to them. “We are now keeping a closer eye on the children.”
TNP is not naming anyone in the family to protect the boy’s identity.
This is not a place for a kid his age to run around. He might get knocked down or worse – get driven off by a stranger. It’s so dangerous.
– The 53-year-old housewife who made the police report
BOY’S CASE REFERRED TO CHILD PROTECTION CENTRE
After receiving the report on the boy playing in an open-air carpark, the police referred the matter to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
In an e-mail reply, the ministry’s spokesman told The New Paper that both MSF and Heart@Fei Yue, a child protection specialist centre, are reaching out to the family “to support them and their care of the child”.
When contacted, Heart@Fei Yue said the case had just been referred to them and that it would take eight weeks to make a thorough assessment.
“The results will be presented to a multidisciplinary team, then we would decide what sort of intervention to take,” the centre’s spokesman said.
Ms Koh Wah Khoon, senior director of the Singapore Children’s Society Family Service Centre in Yishun, said: “Sometimes people who need help do not know where to seek help or they do not know how to ask it. They may even feel ashamed to seek help outside of their family circle.
“The larger community, whether it is a neighbour or a passer-by, can be the bridge or catalyst to link those who need help to agencies that are best positioned to give them the needed assistance.”
She added: “I am heartened and encouraged that a member of the public takes an interest in what is happening in the community; shows care and concern for fellow citizens, especially very young children who are more vulnerable and need the protection and supervision of adults.”
Families who are experiencing difficulties are advised to seek assistance early by approaching a family service centre or a social service office.
juditht@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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