Three babies abandoned alive each year in Singapore
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By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 17 August 2010 1523 hrs
SINGAPORE: An average of three babies were abandoned alive each year, from 2005 to 2009. The number has not risen.
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Vivian Balakrishnan, revealed the figure in his written response to a question from Nominated MP Laurence Wee.
He said there is a network of support services for expectant mothers in Singapore, and a 24-hour toll-free MUM-TO-BE helpline, manned by social workers to counsel distressed mothers.
Last year, some 1,000 calls were made to the helpline.
Teenagers in pregnancy crises can seek help from the Babes service through the use of SMS.
In 2009, the service received close to 1500 SMSes and helped 79 teens with pregnancy related needs.
Dr Balakrishnan said MCYS also works with voluntary welfare organisations running shelters and other services for expectant mothers.
Another source of help available is Sanctuary House, which provides short-term emergency infant care services.
By providing an opportunity for the parents to leave their babies in a safe home environment for a temporary period, parents are able to seek assistance and consider care options for their infants rather than abandoning them in unsafe conditions or environments.
On whether the government will consider developing a baby hatch or baby drop similar to the one in Malaysia, Dr Balakrishnan said the experiences of countries such as the US and Japan have not shown they're effective.
Cases of babies abandoned in unsafe places are still reported despite such baby drops, he said.
Dr Balakrishnan said efforts at raising awareness on the avenues of help, reaching out to those at-risk and providing responsive services to those in need must continue. -CNA/vm -
Wad's the penalty of abandoning babies?
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Death Sentence???
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Originally posted by Junyang700:
Death Sentence???
Only if that place is in your wonderland. Well, at most the girls sent to girls home or jail lor, depend their age. That can be accounted for manslaughter if the baby was borned alive. (Some cases are the foetus had died before it was borned)
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average only one in 4 months.
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not enuf issit. haha...
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Want and know how to engage in sex, but when problem arises, all "wash hands". Tsk.
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place this babies for adoption. i am sure there are plenty of people out there who cant conceive.
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Originally posted by S1NS:
Want and know how to engage in sex, but when problem arises, all "wash hands". Tsk.
I heard nowadays It's very hard to find a virgin in Singapore.
