Singapore Law to compel children to take care of parents
The SG government wants to amend a law to make children take care of their parents. They formed a working group to discuss the necessary changes.

The existing law on the Maintenance of Parents is set out here. 

I carried out a recent survey. 59% of the respondents (out of 17 votes) disagreed with this law as there are many justified circumstances where children does not wish to take care of their parents. 

The number of cases where parents filed for maintenance under the law has dropped to an average of 30 cases a year since 2017. See this report. 

The enforcement of this law probably cause more harm than good.  It adds to further disputes within the family.

It is better for the government to provide opportunities for elderly people to earn an income from doing light work. If they are unable to work due to health conditions, they should get a monthly living allowance from the government. The number of these cases are likely to be small, and should not add a burden on the budget.

Tan Kin Lian


 

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