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Tag: childcare

  • Father Of Abused Toddler, Daniel: I Never Got To See My Son Alive

    Father Of Abused Toddler, Daniel: I Never Got To See My Son Alive

    He was in prison when his son was born.

    Day after day, he counted down the days to when he could hold his boy in his arms.

    But when Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani could finally do that, it was too late.

    The only time he got to hold Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser was when he was about to bury him.

    His son died on Nov 23 last year, about a month before his third birthday, after 25 days of sustained abuse by his mother, Zaidah, 41, and her live-in boyfriend, Zaini Jamari, 46.

    Choking back tears, Mr Nasser, 41, told The New Paper yesterday: “I never got to see him alive.

    “The only time I held him in my arms, he was a lifeless corpse.”


    Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani. TNP PHOTO: JEREMY LONG

    He said he had spent 18 months behind bars from December 2012 to June 2014 for drug-related offences.

    Two months before he went in, Mr Nasser was informed by Zaidah, whom he had married in Batam and later divorced, that she was pregnant with his child.

    A few weeks into his sentence, Mr Nasser said an officer asked him to sign a document, which informed him that he was the father to a boy named Daniel.

    This gave him something to look forward to after serving his time.

    “I told myself that I would find my son after I got out,” said Mr Nasser, who works as a cleaner.

    LONG SEARCH

    But after his release, he found out that Zaidah was no longer living at her old address.

    Making it his top priority to find Daniel, Mr Nasser reached out to Zaidah’s friends, tried all possible phone numbers he could think of and even visited places he thought she might frequent.

    A year of searching yielded no results. None of his friends or acquaintances knew where Zaidah and Daniel were.


    Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser died about a month before his third birthday. PHOTO: ABDU MANAF AL ANSARI

    Frustrated by each failed attempt to find his boy, he started losing hope of ever meeting Daniel.

    Mr Nasser, who has two older children from a previous marriage, said: “I was not even given a chance to meet my own son.

    “I did everything I could, but they could not be found anywhere. I thought that I would never see or hear about Daniel ever again.”

    About five months later, on the evening of Nov 26 last year, he finally got news about his son. It was a call from a police officer, who asked if he had a son named Daniel.

    Mr Nasser excitedly said yes, thinking that after more than two years, they would finally get to meet. But what he thought was good news brought his world crashing down.

    The officer told him the heartbreaking news that Daniel had died after being abused.

    “I did not even get to see Daniel alive, and now they called me to identify his dead body,” Mr Nasser said.

    Putting aside his anguish, Mr Nasser went to the mortuary the next day and saw his son for the first time.

    It left him in tears.

    CUTS AND BRUISES

    “There were cuts and bruises everywhere on his tiny body,” he said.

    “It broke my heart to look at him, my own flesh and blood, knowing that he had been hurt and tortured so badly.”

    Mr Nasser collected Daniel’s body on Nov 30.

    It was to be the first and last day that he would get to hold his son.

    That same afternoon, he and seven of his family members buried Daniel.


    Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani (extreme right) with his family members at the burial site of his son. PHOTO: ABDU MANAF AL ANSARI

    His brother, Mr Abdu Manaf Al Ansari, said that though they did not get to know Daniel, the family loved him and wanted to make sure he was given the proper last rites.

    “We are the paternal side that Daniel could have grown up with,” he told The New Paper.

    “Daniel was not an outcast, not from a broken family. He had a good family, only that he was denied true love from us.”

    Asked what he would have told his son if he were still alive, Mr Nasser broke down before saying he would have promised Daniel that he would be the best father possible.

    “He was my own son, I did not get to do anything for him, did not get to hold him, or tell him that I love him,” he said.

    “I would have given anything for the opportunity to take care of him.”

    I did not even get to see Daniel alive, and now they called me to identify his dead body.

    – Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani

    We are the paternal side that Daniel could have grown up with. Daniel was not an outcast, not from a broken family. He had a good family, only that he was denied true love from us.

    – Daniel’s uncle, Mr Abdu Manaf Al Ansari

    ABOUT THE CASE

    Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser, who died about a month short of his third birthday, was abused for 25 days over a 35-day period.

    During that time, he was kicked and slapped almost every day by his pregnant mother and her boyfriend.

    Cleaners Zaidah, 41, and Zaini Jamari, 46, also made Daniel stand with his hands on his head while wearing only a diaper as punishment.

    They also forced him to eat spoonfuls of dried chilli.

    He was found motionless on Nov 23, 2015, the morning after he fell and hit his head on the floor when Zaini kicked him.

    An autopsy found that the cause of death was bleeding in the brain.

    Last Thursday, Zaidah and Zaini were each convicted of three charges of child abuse and one count each of causing grievous hurt.

    Zaidah admitted to 26 other charges of abusing Daniel, and Zaini to another 18 counts.

    The couple will be sentenced next Tuesday.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Kindergarten Teacher Resigns After Children Allege Abuse

    Kindergarten Teacher Resigns After Children Allege Abuse

    When her six-year-old son Joel (not his real name) started refusing to attend kindergarten and claimed that his teacher had hit him with a pen, Madam Lee, 37, thought he was just being rebellious and spoilt.

    But one night last month, Joel became very insistent on not going to school the next day and Madam Lee, a business development manager, sensed that something was wrong.

    She started probing into Joel’s claims and found out that Joel’s teacher at Zoo-phonics School in Bukit Timah, a private enrichment centre, would hit his hand with a pen to discipline him.

    He also claimed she would push and shake him violently whenever he did not know the answer to a question or made a mistake in his work.

    Madam Lee found out that another child had been treated the same way by the teacher.

    Both mothers went to see the teacher and principal on Oct 5 and lodged a police report later that night. They pulled their children out of the school the next day.

    Police confirmed that the reports were made and investigations are ongoing.

    When TNP contacted the director of Zoo-phonics School Asia, Mr Vincent Teoh, he said the teacher had resigned on Thursday.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • My First Skool And PCF To Raise Fees

    My First Skool And PCF To Raise Fees

    SINGAPORE – Parents with children in pre- schools run by NTUC’s My First Skool or the PAP Community Foundation (PCF), the two largest pre-school operators here, will most likely have to pay more next year.

    Both will raise monthly childcare fees at most of their centres next year, by an average of $34 for My First Skool and $28 for PCF.

    For infant care, on average, My First Skool will raise fees by $14, while PCF will charge $48 more.

    Both told The Straits Times that the fee increases are needed to improve the quality of their programmes, and to cope with soaring operating costs such as higher staff salaries. They had raised fees at most of their centres just this year.

    My First Skool and PCF, both appointed as anchor operators catering to the mass market, also reiterated that the new fees will generally still be lower than the maximum allowed for such operators.

    Anchor operators get government grants but have to keep fees affordable. They cannot charge more than $720 a month for full-day childcare and $1,275 a month for full-day infant care, before goods and services tax. This is below the industry median fee of $900 and $1,343 for the two services.

    The other three anchor operators here are E-bridge Pre-School, Skool4kidz and MY World Preschool. The first two will not charge more next year as they have already hit the maximum allowed. MY World will raise fees at four of its 25 centres, as these were newly transferred from another operator this year.

    Fee increases usually start in January but, for My First Skool and PCF, these will kick in later in the year.

    My First Skool, which informed parents yesterday, said the increase will start from April, to give parents “an ample six-month notice”.

    It will charge more at 113 of its 120 centres, but these centres will have no further fee increase in 2017.

    PCF told parents about its fee hike earlier last month, saying fees will increase in January. But it made a U-turn last Friday and said that “on a goodwill basis”, it will give all Singaporean and permanent resident children a rebate from January to June, so that the new fees take effect only from July.

    PCF, the largest operator here, will raise fees at 139 of its 154 childcare centres and 209 of its 215 kindergartens. Fees for its kindergarten services will increase by an average of $16. My First Skool does not offer kindergarten services.

    The fee hikes were approved by the Early Childhood Development Agency, which oversees the sector. A spokesman said: “Pre-school operators raise fees from time to time to ensure sustainability as operating costs rise, and to recruit and retain teachers to deliver quality programmes.”

    A spokesman for My First Skool agreed, noting that teacher salaries have increased by an average of 5 to 6 per cent each year, over the last three years.

    A PCF spokesman said: “Retaining well-qualified staff has been increasingly challenging in recent years, given the keen competition for limited manpower resources in the industry.”

    Both operators said there are special funds for low-income families, on top of government subsidies. All working mothers get a subsidy of $300 a month for full-day childcare, or $600 for full-day infant care. Those with a household income of not more than $7,500 a month get a second subsidy.

    Customer service officer Lee Mei Ling, 34, who has two children in PCF centres, said: “PCF’s fees are already lower than many other operators’, so I think it’s okay. Teachers should be paid well for their work. But it’d be good if the income cap for the second subsidy could be raised. We have three children and earn just a few hundred dollars more than the income cap.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Working Mum To Get $1 In Maintenance

    Working Mum To Get $1 In Maintenance

    A working mother who divorced her pilot husband has been awarded $1 in annual nominal maintenance after the Court of Appeal clarified a previous ruling, a decision which means she can apply for further maintenance in future if her circumstances change.

    Last October, the High Court ruled that the couple’s $1.65 million matrimonial home should be divided 70:30 in favour of the wife, while a $1,500 monthly maintenance for their child should be borne equally by both parents.

    However, the judge made no order as to her maintenance but made it clear that she had a legal right to apply for it in the future.

    The woman, 42, a bank officer, appealed to the apex court against the whole judgment in July. It dismissed her case but explained that “no order” maintenance was not appropriate to reflect the judge’s ruling.

    Instead it granted her nominal maintenance, which preserves her right to apply for maintenance in the future should the need arise.

    “In order to preserve a wife’s right to apply for maintenance to the court in the future, an order for nominal maintenance is required,” wrote Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, on behalf of the Court of Appeal in judgment grounds released this month. “What the judge was doing, in substance, was to equate the legal effect or result of an order for nominal maintenance with that for an order that there be no order on an application for maintenance. With respect, we disagree.”

    The 43-year-old former Republic of Singapore Air Force pilot and the working mum, whose salary soared after she got her master’s degree, will share custody of their 11-year-old child despite the wife’s bid for sole custody.

    The couple cannot be named for legal reasons. Their marriage broke down in 2010 after 12 years and she cited his unreasonable behaviour.

    She was represented by lawyer Koh Tien Hua, while he was defended by Ms Sim Bock Eng.

    In a commentary on the appeals court’s decision, two Singapore Management University law graduates have suggested that the award of $1 maintenance orders as the default position should be reviewed.

    This should be considered “in an age when women are increasingly financially independent and spouses share familial responsibilities more equally”, Ms Beatrice Yeo and Ms Fiona Chew wrote in a commentary published in Singapore Law Watch last week. “Arguably, the award of $1 maintenance simply to preserve the wife’s future right to maintenance without further justification might also be said to be out of touch with the realities of today’s more gender-equal era.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Parents Likely To Pay Lesser For Childcare

    Parents Likely To Pay Lesser For Childcare

    More parents may soon pay lower fees for childcare, with at least half a dozen operators keen to tap a government scheme that offers grants for centres to reduce their charges.

    At least six large and mid-sized operators, which have over 5,000 childcare places in total, said they are likely to apply to the scheme announced earlier this month.

    To be eligible for the Early Childhood Development Agency partner operator scheme, operators must lower fees, cap them at $800 a month for full-day childcare, and offer at least 300 childcare places each or as a group. The median fee is now $900 a month.

    Smaller operators which do not meet the size requirement can partner others to apply, but those The Straits Times spoke to were unsure or not keen (see sidebar).

    The application period ends on April 10. Operators will be appointed by the year end.

    Major private childcare opera- tors Busy Bees (formerlyKnowledge Universe Singapore) and Modern Montessori International (MMI) said they are keen, but plan to include only their brands that cater to the mass market and have lower fees. They have more than 30 centres each and charge over $1,300 a month on average.

    But MMI will have only its two centres under the Hamilton Preschool brand, which charge an average of $763 a month, take part. Busy Bees is likely to include only its three Small Wonder centres, which charge an average of $745 a month, in the scheme.

    Busy Bees Asia chief executive June Rusdon said: “These centres also aim to offer good quality yet affordable services… Taking part in this scheme will expedite our cause to reach the masses.”

    Some mid-sized operators are also keen and are likely to have all their centres take part.

    Star Learners managing director Tan Meng Wei put it simply: “We welcome any help that they seek to provide.”

    Just Kids Learning Place director Lurvin Lee said: “Funding will be helpful for rent, salaries, professional development course fees, and learning resources.”

    But with the lack of details, some operators are undecided.

    Carpe Diem and Sunflower Childcare want to know the grant amount, to determine if it is financially viable for them to take part.

    A spokesman for the Early Childhood Development Agency would only say: “The scheme is a competitive process. The grant quantum will be based on the submissions and other information obtained from the shortlisted operators.”

    With $250 million set aside for the scheme over five years, some hope that there will be many operators appointed.

    Sweetlands Childcare director Chan Chew Shia said limiting the grants to some operators, such as the five current anchor operators, could lead to higher fees at centres that do not qualify.

    With anchor operators getting grants and support to set up more centres, there has been more demand for teachers, resulting in higher salaries to attract them, she said. Centres run by non-anchor operators end up having to charge higher fees to cope with rising costs, she added.

    Administration executive Lynnette Loong, 35, whose son attends childcare at Star Learners, is glad the pre-school is keen.

    “Lower fees is good news. I hope the centres also get help in finding teachers, as a manpower shortage leads to rising staff costs and could lead to higher fees.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com