Hansard, 1995-09-27

Under the provisions of clause 2(d) of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the following Members have been granted permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated:- Mr Charles Chong - from 9th to 12th August, 1995. Dr Wong Kwei Cheong - from 14th to 16th August, from 22nd to 26th August, from 6th to 8th September, from 13th to 16th September and from 27th to 29th September, 1995. Dr John Chen Seow Phun - from 15th to 19th August and from 1st to 7th October, 1995. Prof. S. Jayakumar - from 16th to 19th August, from 21st to 23rd August and from 23rd September to 23rd October, 1995. Mr S. Dhanabalan - on 16th August, on 29th August, on 12th September and from 27th September to 2nd October, 1995. Dr Tan Cheng Bock - from 17th to 19th August, 1995. Dr Beng Kian Lam, Arthur - from 17th to 19th August and from 17th September to 16th October, 1995. Mr Koo Tsai Kee - from 21st to 23rd August and from 10th to 19th September, 1995. RAdm Teo Chee Hean - from 21st to 28th August and from 5th to 10th October, 1995. Mr Peter Sung - from 21st to 25th August, from 4th to 9th September, from 25th to 30th September and from 1st to 8th October, 1995. Dr Wan Soon Bee - from 22nd to 26th August, 1995. Mr Bernard Chen - from 22nd to 27th August, 1995. Mr Mah Bow Tan - from 26th to 27th August, 1995. Dr Ow Chin Hock - from 28th August to 5th September, 1995. Mr Choo Wee Khiang - from 28th August to 1st September and from 9th to 13th October, 1995. Mr Goh Chee Wee - from 28th to 30th August, from 13th to 16th September and from 27th to 30th September, 1995. Mr Teo Chong Tee - from 28th to 31st August and from 9th to 14th September, 1995. Mr Chew Heng Ching - from 28th to 31st August, 1995. Dr Kanwaljit Soin - from 28th August to 7th September, 1995. Mr Loh Meng See - from 29th August to 1st September, 1995. Mr Heng Chiang Meng - from 30th August to 1st September, from 10th to 13th September and from 6th to 30th October, 1995. Mr Abdullah Tarmugi - from 31st August to 15th September, 1995. Dr Ker Sin Tze - from 31st August to 2nd September and on 2nd October, 1995. Mr Imram bin Mohamed - from 2nd to 7th September, 1995. Dr Aline K Wong - from 2nd to 11th September, 1995. Dr Low Seow Chay - from 2nd to 6th September and from 23rd September to 1st October, 1995. Mr R. Sinnakaruppan - from 2nd to 10th September, from 12th to 15th September and from 8th to 15th October, 1995. Mr Lew Syn Pau - from 4th to 6th September and from 11th to 18th September, 1995. Dr Yeo Ning Hong - from 4th to 10th September and from 12th to 15th September, 1995. Mr Chng Hee Kok - from 5th to 13th September, 1995. Mr Tan Soo Khoon - from 5th to 12th September and from 2nd to 6th October, 1995. Mr Chin Harn Tong - from 6th to 8th September, 1995. Mr S. Chandra Das - from 6th to 8th September, from 19th to 26th September and from 29th to 30th September, 1995. Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe - from 7th to 8th September and from 2nd to 8th October, 1995. Dr Wang Kai Yuen - from 9th to 15th September, 1995. Mr Lim Hng Kiang - from 10th to 16th September, 1995. Mr Leong Horn Kee - from 15th to 19th September and from 21st September to 3rd October, 1995. Mr John De Payva - from 16th to 27th September, 1995. Mr Zulkifli bin Mohammed - from 17th to 23rd September, 1995. Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon - from 18th to 28th September, 1995. Dr Ho Tat Kin - from 20th to 27th September, 1995. Mr Peh Chin Hua - from 21st to 24th September and from 16th to 21st October, 1995. Mr Wong Kan Seng - from 23rd September to 6th October and from 24th to 27th October, 1995. Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon - from 25th September to 19th October, 1995. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo - from 25th to 28th September and from 4th to 15th October, 1995. Dr Lau Teik Soon - from 25th to 30th September, 1995. Mr Low Thia Khiang - from 25th September to 8th October, 1995. Mr Lee Yiok Seng - from 25th to 26th September, 1995. Mr Ho Kah Leong - from 26th September to 8th October, 1995. Mr Chiam See Tong - from 26th to 29th September, 1995. Dr Michael Lim Chun Leng - from 27th September to 1st October, 1995. Dr Lee Tsao Yuan - on 27th September, 1995. Mr K. Shanmugam - on 27th September, 1995. Mr Lee Kuan Yew - on 27th September, 1995. Encik Sidek bin Saniff - from 29th September to 1st October, 1995. Dr Lee Boon Yang - from 30th September to 1st October, 1995. Mr Davinder Singh - from 2nd to 13th October, 1995. BG Lee Hsien Loong - from 3rd to 10th October, 1995. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam - from 3rd to 5th October, 1995. Encik Mohamad Maidin B P M - from 3rd to 14th October, 1995. Dr Ahmad Mattar - from 3rd to 7th October, 1995. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore

The following Bills were assented to by the President of the Republic of Singapore on the date stated: 30th August, 1995 (i) The Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act 1995; (ii) The Rapid Transit Systems Act 1995; (iii) The Street Works Act 1995; and (iv) The Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Act 1995. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore

asked the Minister for National Development if the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will consider HDB-type financing for executive condominiums for first-time house owners.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Executive Condominiums are introduced to provide Singaporeans private housing at a lower cost. It is therefore appropriate that this form of housing be developed by the private sector. Like other private housing, the sale of Executive Condominiums will be governed by the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act. They are different from HDB Executive Apartments which are governed by the Housing and Development Act. To maintain similar treatment with other private properties, HDB will not be financing the mortgages for Executive Condominiums. The Government will, however, be providing a $40,000 CPF Housing Grant for first-timers to assist them in buying their homes.

Sir, will the Minister agree that the HDB Executive Condominiums have some special covenants on the first 10 years of its lease? They are therefore not quite like private properties. The second question I would like to ask the Minister is when will the financing schemes be finalised and announced to the public so that those who are on the waiting list of the Executive Apartments can make a decision as to whether they should opt for the Executive Condominiums.

Mr Speaker, Sir, first, I would like to clarify that these are not HDB Executive Condominiums. These are Executive Condominiums to be built by the private sector. Second, the mortgages will be provided by the banks. There will be some covenants which allow the Government to take back the Executive Condominiums if the purchaser violates the condition of staying in it during the first five years or if he violates the condition that the flat can only be sold to Singaporeans and permanent residents in the next five years. Other than that, these flats will be, for all intents and purposes, private properties with strata titles. We will be taking action to amend the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act to take over these Executive Condominiums and the financing arrangements by the banks should be sorted out before the first launch of the Executive Condominiums in June next year.

asked the Minister for National Development whether the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme is dependent on the level of support in selected estates.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme, or SERS, is implemented in sites where the current land use is sub-optimal, and the potential for redevelopment is high. It is therefore not dependent on the level of support shown but on whether the site itself meets the above criteria as identified by HDB.

Sir, going by the reports on Boon Tiong which was selected for this scheme, it seems that the Government is under-selling itself in the process. Some outsiders feel that the scheme is rather generous but the news reports indicate otherwise. Will the Minister like to comment on that, Sir?

When we redevelop a site under SERS, there are benefits that will be recovered. The redevelopment will provide the country with more units built on the same site. At the same time, we are able to share these benefits with the existing owners of the flats. Let us say, for example, in Boon Tiong, we are able to ensure that the owner of a 4-room flat is not only able to buy a new 4-room flat with 99-year lease, as compared to his present 4-room flat which has got 70-plus years lease, but he also ends up with a cash outlay of $30,000. So from an old flat with 70-odd years lease, he gets a brand new flat with 99 years lease in the same locality and ends up with cash of $30,000 to help him with his renovation. I think that is a fair sharing of benefits and we hope that owners who are affected by SERS will see it in this light and support the scheme.

Can I ask the Minister what is the feedback from the three areas where the scheme is to be implemented, namely, Boon Tiong, Toa Payoh and Mountbatten?

Mr Speaker, Sir, let me explain that Mountbatten is different. In Mountbatten, we are building new flats to encourage existing residents there, who are primarily tenants of rental flats, to buy their flats under the home ownership scheme. So Mountbatten is not under the SERS programme. In Boon Tiong, after the first two dialogue sessions, we have managed to explain the benefits more thoroughly to the residents and we have run an informal survey. Out of the survey returns we have received so far, 75% said that they support the scheme. We are still going door to door to explain the scheme to the individuals because how they respond depend on the individual circumstances. Some want to buy a bigger flat, some want to combine with their children and others want to sell their flats to recoup the monetary benefits. So there are many combinations depending on the individual circumstances. It is better for us to explain the options clearly to the residents so that they can understand the scheme better. But so far, the informal survey in Boon Tiong shows that 75% are keen to participate in the scheme. Meanwhile, we are still conducting the door-to-door explanation of the scheme to the Boon Tiong residents. In Toa Payoh, Mr Dhanabalan had two dialogue sessions with the residents affected. The feedback so far has been very encouraging. All the residents are happy to be given this opportunity to join in the SERS scheme. The singles who bought 3-room flats in Toa Payoh are a little disappointed. Although they can buy a 4-room flat in the new development they are not given the $30,000 discount. We have to explain to the singles that this is a fair sharing of benefits that a family who buys a new flat enjoys a $30,000 discount but a single is allowed to buy a 4-room flat, so the benefits should be less than that enjoyed by a family. With that explanation, Mr Dhanabalan is still proceeding on a door-to-door basis to explain to the various residents. Depending on the individual circumstances, he is confident that the residents affected in Toa Payoh are fully in support of the programme.

Is it true that in Boon Tiong Road, the land acquired will ultimately be sold to private developers?

It all depends on the circumstances. In the case of Boon Tiong specifically, we have explained the redevelopment programme. In Boon Tiong, we will sequentially rebuild the site for HDB flats. But this does not preclude other areas where, having built enough flats to rehouse the existing residents and if there is land left over, there is no reason why we should not consider either building HDB flats or tender it out for private housing. But our undertaking to the residents there under the SERS scheme is that we understand their wishes to continue living in the area and we would try to build enough flats to meet their needs. Once that is met, then it does not make very much difference whether we continue to build more HDB flats or we sell the land for private housing. The net result is we get more flats in the very prime and very attractive areas for all Singaporeans.

Does the Minister not think that if the intention of the Government to acquire the property is to ultimately dispose it to the private developers, then the compensation should be more than what it is paying them now?

It does not necessarily follow because when we sell a piece of land to private developers and the density is lower, in fact, the net return is sometimes lower than if we had built HDB flats where we can build to a higher density. The net proceeds of the land sale could be higher under the HDB programme or it could be lower under the private housing programme. It depends on the density and location.

Will the Minister confirm that not all the land in HDB estates belong to the residents? They only have a right to use the land.

Now we are getting into the nitty-gritty. For example, in Boon Tiong, there is a misconception that there is a lot of money to be made when Government acquires the flats and redevelop the site. As we had tried to explain to the residents of Boon Tiong, if they look at the redevelopment of the site, the first redevelopment is on an old school. That is state land. That land does not belong to the HDB residents. To start the programme, we have to build flats to rehouse them. The first lot of flats are built on current state land. Secondly, there is another strip of vacant land between the Boon Tiong blocks of flats and the Bukit Ho Swee blocks of flats. That is currently state land. We could have gone in and build more HDB flats. When they read the newspaper report that there is a net increase of so many units, they were under the impression that this arose out of the redevelopment of their sites and we had to explain to them that this was not so. In fact, the net increase includes sites which are currently state land, the old school as well as the vacant land north of the existing site. Mr Chng Hee Kok's point that the residents do not own the land is a legal point, ie, right now the common properties are still the properties of HDB. So the residents only have ownership of the title to the units which they live in, but not the common property. That is why it is not possible for us to let the residents negotiate with the private developer to redevelop the site. The land technically still belongs to HDB. But we are not pursuing that technical and legal point. Basically, we want to tell residents affected by SERS that there are redevelopment benefits that accrue to the country at large. At the same time, to be fair, we have designed a package in which they share in the redevelopment benefits. The simple way to look at the sharing of the redevelopment benefits is if you own a old 4-room flat today, under SERS, you will get a brand new 4-room flat with 99 years lease plus $30,000 cash. That I think is a fair compensation.

Sir, what steps would the Ministry be taking to help older senior citizens who have very little savings to take advantage of the scheme?

Again, there is this myth of older Singaporeans who cannot take advantage of this scheme and would be left out. Let me assure Members that older Singaporeans are as shrewd as younger Singaporeans and they know how to benefit from the scheme by combining with their children to buy the biggest flat available. There is a danger here - I must explain to the House - when we carried out the surveys we asked each and every resident what type of flat they hoped to purchase in the end. If they indicate that they cannot afford it and they only want to buy a 4-room flat, then we will build more 4-room flats than 5-room flats. But in the end, you may find that the 5-room flats give them more returns than a 4-room flat. And if they do not fill up the survey form accurately, they may find that there are not enough 5-room flats to go round. So there is this myth that senior citizens may not be able to afford it. Many of them are, in fact, planning to combine with their children to buy a bigger flat. They have lived with their children in the housing estate in which their children have grown up. This is a development that we would like to encourage. I am confident that when the project is completed, they will find that it is a worthwhile project for them to participate in.

Sir, if there are cases of senior citizens who really cannot afford it, are there any plans to help them to remain within the area?

If indeed a senior citizen says that he cannot afford to buy a new flat, HDB will help him buy a 3-room flat in the same vicinity and let him enjoy some of the monetary benefits of selling the rights to a new flat in that area. So we assure all senior citizens that if they just want to continue living in a 3-room flat in the same area, they will still end up with a net cash surplus, and HDB will help them buy another 3-room flat in the area. So there is no problem. But if they say that they cannot afford to buy a 5-room flat, then there is a problem. But if they say, "Look, I am staying in a 3-room flat today, and I am prepared to stay in another 3-room flat in the same vicinity.", HDB is prepared to help them buy a 3-room flat from the resale market. I can assure Members that by selling off the benefits of a brand new flat in the same area, they will still end up with a cash surplus.

asked the Minister for Labour, in view of recent court rulings on the division of Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings upon divorce, if he will consider introducing legislation to amend the CPF Act so as to incorporate minimum protection to spouses of CPF contributors irrespective of the contributors' nominations.

Mr Speaker, Sir, at present, a CPF member may nominate any person to be the beneficiary of his CPF savings upon death. If there is no nomination, upon death, his CPF savings will be distributed by the Public Trustee to the spouse, children and other family members according to existing law. The current nomination rule also provides that a nomination is automatically revoked by marriage. The intention of this is to force CPF members to re-consider their nominations in favour of their spouses or other members of their families. If the member fails to re-nominate, his CPF savings will be distributed as though there is no nomination. If we amend the Act to incorporate a minimum protection to the spouse of a CPF member by providing in law that the spouse is entitled to a portion of his CPF savings, it would erode the right of CPF members to nominate person or persons of their choice to receive their CPF savings. Sir, in 1978, an amendment similar to the Member's proposal was, in fact, incorporated in a CPF (Amendment) Bill which was subsequently referred to a Select Committee. The Select Committee received various representations from organisations and persons arguing that it was undesirable to overrule a CPF member's nomination for beneficiaries of his CPF savings. The proposal was subsequently not taken up. In view of the above, my Ministry will not amend the CPF Act as suggested by the Member.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as the promotion of family values is the cornerstone of our society's philosophy, will the Minister say that, hypothetically, it is against the country's interest should a CPF member nominate a person other than his family members, for example, he nominates his pet dog as his beneficiary under the CPF scheme that we have currently?

Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, about 50% of the CPF members do not or fail to make nominations after their marriage. In other words, should anyone from this 50% pass away before the age of 55, the CPF savings will be transferred to the Public Trustee who will then distribute it according to the intestate law. In which case, the interest of the spouse, the children or immediate family members will be looked after because the intestate law spells out clearly how it should be distributed. Out of the remaining 50% who have nominated, about 95% of them nominate their immediate family members as beneficiary. Sir, therefore there is no widespread abuse of privilege to nominate beneficiaries to their CPF savings. I think, by and large, CPF members are very concerned and sensible about how their CPF savings should be distributed upon their death. And I do not see any reason why we should now remove this power to nominate beneficiary to a member's CPF savings.

Sir, I recognise that there is still the 5% which the Minister has mentioned. How is he going to protect the interest of the spouses? Usually, these are cases whereby the surviving members of the family have no legal recourse or they may come from the lower-income group and unable to seek legal recourse.

Mr Speaker, Sir, among the small percentage of CPF members who have nominated beneficiaries who are not members of their immediate family, they have, in fact, nominated their relatives, ie, their uncle, aunty or nephew, to be their beneficiaries. They may have special reasons for doing so, and I do not think we should override their personal preference in such matter.

Sir, would the Minister please tell the House whether the statutory right of nomination takes precedence over the High Court's ruling because CPF monies are now considered part of matrimonial assets, and if the nomination is not in line with the division as suggested by the High Court, would the statutory right of nomination take precedence?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the Member's supplementary question has overlapped into the question that she herself has asked. With your permission, Sir, could I proceed to answer that question first?

All right.

asked the Minister for Labour if he will consider introducing legislation to amend the Central Provident Fund Act so that it is in line with the recent Appeal Court's ruling that a portion of a person's CPF money can be ordered to be held for disbursement to the other spouse as part of a divorce settlement.

Sir, the Appeal Court's Judgement was made in connection with the appeal by CPF Board on a divorce petition. The Appeal Court ruled that the CPF Act does not prevent a spouse, upon dissolution of marriage, to have a proprietary interest in such portion of the other spouse's CPF savings as the Court may order. It also ruled that the proprietary interest does not constitute a form of attachment, sequestration or levy on the CPF savings prohibited by section 25 of the CPF Act. The Appeal Court also affirmed that it can partition a portion of the CPF savings of a member and order a charge on that portion for the purpose of payment to the ex-spouse when the CPF member reaches the CPF withdrawal age. In addition, the Court of Appeal ruled that the current CPF Act does not prevent the ex-spouse from receiving that part of the CPF member's savings when the latter reaches the withdrawal age. Sir, the Court of Appeal's ruling takes effect automatically without any need to amend the CPF Act. However, the Government needs to amend the Act if it wants to protect CPF savings from being used for divorce settlement even when the Court decides that one spouse has proprietary interest in the other spouse's CPF savings. This is a question of policy rather than legal interpretation. My Ministry is presently studying the implications of the Court of Appeal's Judgement before deciding whether to do so.

asked the Acting Minister for Community Development if he will consider introducing amending legislation to further enhance the objectives of the Women's Charter, especially in the area of providing protection to women and strengthening family values, from experience gained over the years since the introduction of the Charter.

asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what steps are being taken by his Ministry to deal more effectively with the problems arising from domestic or family violence.

With your permission, Sir, may I take Question Nos. 5 and 6 together as they are very closely connected?

Yes.

Sir, the Women's Charter was introduced in 1961 to protect women and girls against abuse or exploitation and it serves to protect and preserve the family unit. The Charter provides for monogamous marriage under the Civil Law and spells out the rights and duties of married persons and their responsibilities to the family. It also has provisions to help couples in a family break-up. Mrs Yu-Foo asked whether MCD will consider amending the Women's Charter to further enhance its objectives of protecting women and strengthening family values. The answer is "yes". The Member may be pleased to know that since early last year, MCD, together with the AG's Chambers and the Ministry of Law, has been reviewing the Women's Charter to address, among others: 1) the limitations in existing provisions in the protection of spouses and children; 2) difficulties experienced by the courts in the application of some provisions in the Charter; and 3) the concerns of both the Government and the public in the area of violence in the family. Coming to Question No. 6, Sir, Dr Vasoo enquired about the steps taken by my Ministry to deal with domestic violence. This subject has indeed received much attention lately. I must stress here that our society cannot and must not condone domestic violence. It must, however, be noted that domestic violence is a multi-faceted and highly emotional matter and requires a multi-pronged approach to deal with the problem. There is a need for sensitivity when dealing with disputes which arise as a result of the close interpersonal relationships within the family. I wish to inform Members that the Government had set up an Inter-Ministry Work Group chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs in April 1994 to look at measures to deal more effectively with domestic violence and to arrive at more effective coordination between the relevant agencies. This Work Group comprises representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, my Ministry, Ministry of Health, the Police, and the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations. The Group recommended, among other things, a review of relevant provisions in the Women's Charter to give greater protection to victims of family abuse. The Work Group itself has undertaken several measures to enhance the management of domestic violence cases. Among these are: a) review of procedures such as those relating to: the handling and the referral of victims (and perpetrators) to support services by the police; and the completion of medical reports to help the courts in its decisions on the issue of protection orders; b) review of public education materials and outreach to victims of abuse; and c) review the effectiveness of current legislation such as the application for Protection Order and punishments for breaches thereof under the Women's Charter. My Ministry and the police have also implemented a pilot project involving the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and two social service agencies in April this year. The police have also reviewed the management of cases of domestic violence reported to them and fine-tuned their procedures. While the police are prepared to extend these improved procedures island-wide, they and my Ministry recognise the need for a pilot project because of the inadequate number of counsellors and support organisations, which are critical to the successful management of such cases. The pilot project will be evaluated at the end of the year. If found effective, it will be replicated throughout the island. My Ministry is also currently funding a 2-year diploma course on marital and family counselling for social workers of Family Service Centres. The training will help enhance the skills and pool of social workers who would be able to provide support to those affected by domestic violence.

Mr Speaker, Sir, according to feedback which I have received, divorced women face difficulty in obtaining maintenance from their ex-husbands. In this regard, would the Minister consider amending the Women's Charter to make it easier for divorced women to claim maintenance from their ex-husbands? The second question I would like to ask is: How can we further strengthen the Women's Charter to ensure that housewives, who are not working, get a fair share of the matrimonial assets in recognition of their contribution to the family in the event of divorce?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to both questions is "yes". On maintenance matters, existing provisions will be enhanced to provide better assurance that spouses who have been home-makers and their dependent children are properly provided for in a break-up or in a family dispute. As regards matrimonial assets, under the current provisions, if a home-maker has made some contributions to the acquisition of the assets, the home-maker's share of the assets could be constrained by the size of her contribution. The home-making effort of the party is ignored. However, if the home-maker has not made any contribution at all, the division of assets could take into consideration the home-maker's contribution to the welfare of the family among others. We are addressing this issue to provide for a more equitable basis for the division of matrimonial assets and for the court to have regard to all circumstances, including the needs of dependent children of the marriage and the parties' contribution to the welfare of the family. I will elaborate on the details when I move the amendments to the Women's Charter.

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether the proposed changes would have sufficient teeth to deal with the problems of women who are affected by domestic violence and other related family problems.

Sir, the implication here is that the police are powerless to attend to complaints of domestic violence unless grievous hurt is involved. The Member asked whether the programmes and amendments to the Women's Charter would provide the police and the courts with the teeth to deal with the concerns of domestic violence. Sir, the new provisions and the programmes being considered will enhance the powers of the police and the courts. As I said, I will elaborate on the details when I move the amendments to the Women's Charter later.

asked the Minister for Education if Tao Nan School, a Special Assistance Plan school in Marine Parade, which is to be designated as a Gifted Education Programme (GEP) school next year, will admit non-Chinese GEP students.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as Tao Nan School is a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) School, its Gifted Education Programme (GEP) and non-GEP classes will only teach Chinese as a mother tongue language. It will not admit non-Chinese GEP students unless they happen to be studying Chinese as a second language, eg, for children of mixed marriages. SAP schools have been designated as such to preserve the Chinese ethos, culture and discipline of the schools. It is difficult for non-Chinese students to be assimilated into such an environment.

Sir, would the Minister consider another school in the eastern zone for the GEP programme?

Sir, the answer is yes, we will look into the possibility. Tao Nan School is the first of several primary schools which will be designated as GEP centres. Maybe I should give the Member some data on the distribution of GEP students. The current distribution is that about 97% of the students are Chinese. In fact, the number of non-Chinese students in the GEP programme is very small. Tao Nan School is therefore in a good position to cater to the vast majority of GEP students who live in the eastern part of Singapore. In establishing subsequent GEP centres, my Ministry will ensure that the needs and requirements of GEP students offering Malay and Tamil are also met.

Sir, would the Minister assure the House that it is a wise move to sequester the GEP students in SAP schools? Would the Minister not agree that it would be more representative of multi-ethnic Singapore if our brightest GEP students, although 97% are Chinese, are located in non-SAP schools?

Sir, let me explain why Tao Nan School was chosen as the first GEP school in the eastern zone. The reason is that it has many students who qualify for the GEP programme. It also has a good standing. It is very popular among parents and has produced good results. It is also a mixed school for boys and girls. Considering all these factors, it is considered to be a good choice, especially since 97% of the GEP students are Chinese. We have deliberately placed the GEP stream within an ordinary primary school so that the GEP students are able to mix with the other students. But in this particular case, it so happens that Tao Nan School appears to be the best choice. Most of the other primary schools offering GEP programmes are, in fact, non-SAP schools. Tao Nan School happens to be a SAP school in the eastern zone and it matches the bill in terms of requirements for boy/girl ratio and so on.

Sir, could I request the Minister to reconsider his decision in line with the fact that we do want to have our brightest students in a multi-ethnic environment? Since we already have SAP schools to promote Chinese ethos and culture, would the Minister reconsider his decision because it could be setting a precedent which is a little worrying?

Sir, I understand that the Member has been concerned about this point for some time and she has never failed to bring up this particular angle. But our experience has been that SAP school students are able to mix with other non-Chinese students. It has not been a problem. They live in HDB neighbourhoods. Later on, they will be going to universities and polytechnics where the environment is a multi-racial one. The SAP schools also have programmes where the students inter-relate and socialise with other students to appreciate the culture of the other races. So it has not been a problem and I see no reason why we should reconsider our decision on designating Tao Nan School as a GEP centre starting from next year.

Sir, with due respect, could I ask the Minister to consider the feelings of the 3% GEP students of the minority groups who are not able to get to Tao Nan School?

Yes, we will consider that factor. As I said, we will look into this angle when we designate future GEP centres. In fact, of the four existing primary schools offering GEP programmes, namely, Raffles Girls Primary School, Anglo Chinese Primary School (Barker Road), Nanyang Primary School and Rosyth Primary School, only one is a SAP school. So Tao Nan School will be the second SAP primary school offering the GEP programme. There are places for these other children.

asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether he is satisfied with the current penalties imposed for using a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle.

Sir, phone driving is an inconsiderate driving behaviour which poses a danger to road-users. The police has stepped up enforcement against phone drivers. In 1994, 2,838 motorists were booked for phone driving compared with 395 in 1993. From January to August this year, 1,837 were booked for phone driving. Apart from stepping up enforcement, the police has also been encouraging motorists to install hands-free sets. Sir, although the number of motorists booked for phone driving has increased, the problem has not gone out of hand to warrant increasing the current penalties. Currently, a motorist who phone drives is committing an offence of driving without due care or reasonable consideration under section 865 of the Road Traffic Act. The penalty is a fine of $170 or $200 for drivers of light and heavy vehicles respectively. The offence also carries 9 demerit points. Sir, the police will continue to monitor the situation closely. My Ministry will not hesitate to increase the penalties if the situation so requires.

Sir, I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary what other measures are being considered by his Ministry.

Sir, other possible measures would include confiscating the handphone, increasing the number of demerit points or, if necessary, making phone driving a specific offence. But for the moment, we will continue to monitor and see whether the situation warrants considering these other measures.

Sir, would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that handphone driving is a very serious offence? And in view of that, would he agree that something more needs to be done than just monitoring the situation, because it could lead to some serious and fatal accidents?

Sir, I agree with the Member. I think all of us here agree that driving with one hand on the handphone and the other hand on the wheel is indeed serious. That is why, as I have mentioned, we have stepped up enforcement. We will continue with education to encourage drivers to install hands-free sets. And as I have mentioned in this House, the fact that we are considering enforcing other tougher measures underscores that we are serious in ensuring that this inconsiderate driving behaviour does not get out of hand. Also, if I may say, we have encouraged other drivers to report such offenders if they do see people using handphones while driving. I think this also calls for the support of fellow drivers to ensure that this dangerous behaviour, as the Member has mentioned, would be wiped out.

Sir, would the Parliamentary Secretary explain his slight reluctance in being more tough with these offenders? Second, would he agree that taking stricter measures and making an example of a few cases would be a very good deterrent for other potential offenders?

Sir, let me put things in perspective. I think it is wrong to say that I am reluctant to enhance the penalties. When we monitor the situation, it does not mean that we just sit on our backs. We are actively considering enhancing the penalties. I have mentioned to the Member for Cheng San GRC the penalties we will introduce if the situation warrants it.

The following Question stood in the name of Dr Lee Tsao Yuan- 9. To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what measures are being taken to prevent tailgating, particularly on expressways.

Question No. 9, Sir.

Sir, tailgating, particularly on expressways, is a cause of many accidents. The police adopts a two-pronged approach of public education and enforcement in dealing with the problem. Not to tailgate is one of the key messages emphasised by Traffic Police in its annual campaign on road courtesy. The same message is also carried in the on-going public education effort on the proper use of expressways. With the help of the Public Works Department, Traffic Police has also put up road signs along the East Coast Parkway to remind drivers to keep a safe distance from vehicles in front. Similar road signs will be erected along other expressways. Sir, the Traffic Police will not hesitate to warn, fine or even prosecute motorists who tailgate and pose dangers to other road-users.

The following Question stood in the name of Dr Lee Tsao Yuan- 10. To ask the Minister for National Development what measures have been and are being taken to enhance security in lifts in public housing.

Question No. 10, Sir.

Mr Speaker, Sir, all HDB lifts are fitted with an anti-crime siren, which will automatically sound when there is an attempt to force open the lift door. This helps to deter crime in lifts. Since October 1992, lifts in new HDB blocks have been fitted with glass vision panels on the lift doors. Older lifts are also being fitted with this feature when the blocks are upgraded under the Main Upgrading Programme. This deters crime as assaulters would risk being seen by people at the lift lobbies as the lifts pass by them. Lifts in new HDB blocks also stop on every floor. This enhances security because there is less time for crime to be committed in the lifts. HDB has also recently tested two new lift-crime prevention systems: the Lift Surveillance System and the Integrated Security System. With the Lift Surveillance System, crimes in lifts will be captured on tape by a video camera installed in the lifts. In the Integrated Security System, residents can only enter their block at one entrance point by using an access card. A visitor will have to call the resident via a call panel at the entrance and the resident can screen the visitor through his television set before opening the entrance gate. HDB has included these security features in the list of upgrading items for selection by residents for the Main and Interim Upgrading Programme. In addition to these physical measures, HDB has worked with the Police, particularly the Neighbourhood Police Post, to deter crime in HDB lifts. The number of cases of robbery, vandalism and snatch theft in HDB lifts has been decreasing over the years since 1991. Lift robberies fell from a high of 381 cases in 1991 to 51 cases in 1994. The number of vandalism cases fell from 173 in 1991 to 63 in 1994. The number of snatch thefts was also reduced from 57 in 1991 to 28 in 1994. Incidences of outrage of modesty, however, remained high. HDB will work harder with the Police to prevent this.

Sir, would the Minister consider installing some measures like closed-circuit TV in the rental blocks of older HDB estates to ensure security, if they are not due for immediate upgrading?

Under the Lift Surveillance System and the Integrated Security System, they make use of closed-circuit TV. The Lift Surveillance System has a TV camera in the lift itself. It tapes whatever is going on in the lift and if a crime is committed, the Police will then just run through the tape. In the Integrated Security System, the camera at the entrance shows who is coming into the block and that is piped to the resident's TV set. So if he is free, he can always tune on to his TV set and he will know who is coming in and out of his block. All these provisions are available to the residents. And we leave it to the residents to decide for themselves whether or not they want to spend money on such features when they undertake the various items for upgrading during the upgrading programme. So we leave it to residents, depending on the situation in the blocks, whether they prefer to spend the money on such features or on other features. So the technology is there and the funds are available. It is up to the residents whether they want to incorporate these features or do other things.

asked the Minister for Home Affairs, in respect of Criminal Case No. 34 of 1993 and Appeal No. 53 of 1993, why there is a discrepancy between the weight of heroin seized at the time of the arrest of the accused Lim Swee Seng ie. 474.11 grams and the weight of it as found by the Department of Scientific Services ie 395.98 grams, the weight difference being 78.13 grams, and whether there was any investigation into the cause of the discrepancy.

Sir, Lim Swee Seng was arrested by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for drug trafficking on 31st May 1991. When he was arrested, Lim was found in the possession of 53 packets of granular substances. Six other packets of the same substances were recovered from his flat in a cigarette box. Immediately after the arrest, the investigating officer weighed seven bundles which contained the 53 packets of granular substances in plastic sachets wrapped in newspapers in Lim's presence. The bundles were weighed in their newspaper wrappings and plastic sachets to retain the original state of the exhibits. The seven bundles' gross weight was found to be 474.11 grams. The bundles were then marked and sent to the Department of Scientific Services (DSS) for analysis on 1st June 1991. Lim was charged on 1st June 1991 in the Subordinate Court for two counts of trafficking in diamorphine weighing 474.11 grams in the 53 packets and 58.56 grams in the six packets respectively. On 2nd June 1992, the DSS' analysis confirmed that the 53 packets of granular substances contained a nett weight of 32.28 grams of diamorphine. When Lim was tried at the High Court, the charge relating to the 53 packets of granular substances was amended to one of trafficking in nett weight of 32.28 grams of diamorphine. Sir, during the cross examination of the scientific evidence at the trial, the defence counsel recalculated the gross weight of the seven bundles which contained the 53 packets of granular substances. This was done by adding (a) the weight of the granular substances (325.3 grams); (b) the weight of the 53 empty plastic sachets (30.68 grams); and (c) the weight of the seven pieces of newspaper (40 grams). Sir, the gross weight calculated in this manner was found to be 395.98 grams. There was a difference of 78.13 grams as the gross weight of the seven bundles taken by CNB at the time of the arrest was 474.11 grams. The trial judge was unable to determine the reason for the discrepancy. However, what is important is that the trial judge was satisfied that there was no break in the chain of evidence and that the correct exhibit was sent for analysis. Equally important is the fact that Lim Swee Seng was convicted of the charge of trafficking in a nett weight of 32.28 grams of diamorphine, way above the minimum 15 grams which attracts the capital punishment. This weight was determined by the Department of Scientific Services using stringent analysis protocol which is internationally recognised and not based on the gross weight of the seven bundles of exhibits.

asked the Minister for Community Development if he will give the background information on (i) the case of the murdered 2 year-old Joel Matthias Peter in relation to his custody and with special reference to his Ministry's assessment of the suitability of returning the child to the parents' home and (ii) the evaluation of the follow-up visits and in relation to this matter, whether his Ministry will consider the setting up of a committee of inquiry.

Mr Speaker Sir, let me start with the background on Joel's placement with the Ministry of Community Development (MCD). Joel was referred to the Ministry on 15th January 1993 by his private babysitter as his natural parents defaulted payment of fees and did not contact the babysitter for 1 1/2 months previous to that. The Ministry sought the assistance of the police to locate the parents. As the parents could not be located and the babysitter did not want further responsibility, Joel was placed under the care of a foster mother registered with the Ministry's Fostering Scheme on 5th February 1993. The parents were subsequently traced on 30th April 1993. Our investigation revealed that the parents stopped making contact with the babysitter as they were in financial difficulty and could not pay the babysitter. Although the parents requested the return of Joel on the grounds that the father had found employment and claimed to be financially secure, the Ministry still did not return Joel to them as they had a housing problem and the mother was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. They were advised that Joel would be returned to them when they had resolved their housing problem and the father's employment was more stable. This was also to allow the mother time to take care of the birth of Joel's sibling. In November 1993, the parents requested the return of Joel again as they had settled their housing arrangement. Joel was subsequently returned to the parents in March 1994, that is, about five months after the request, after the Ministry was satisfied that the father was really gainfully employed and their housing problem resolved. The parents' relationship with Joel was also observed to be good during the visits arranged by the Ministry for the parents and child. Upon Joel's discharge back to his parents, regular visits were also made by MCD officers to their residence to observe Joel's adjustment. The parents also came down to the Ministry for discussions with my staff. During such contacts, Joel and the parents were observed to be adjusting well and there was no indication of difficulty expressed or experienced by the parents. Neither was Joel observed to be anxious or withdrawn in the presence of his parents. The case was subsequently closed on July 1994 on the following grounds: (1) the parents were financially stable; (2) they had a proper home; and (3) they showed interest in Joel and Joel in turn was observed to be adjusting well at home. In our assessment, the follow-up visits and procedures subsequent to the return of Joel to his parents were adequate. I am not sure what the Committee of Inquiry is supposed to do or achieve, as asked by Dr Kanwaljit Soin. Frankly, I do not see the need for a Committee of Inquiry. If the Committee of Inquiry is to investigate into the murder of the said child, this is the task of the police and they are already investigating the case. To discuss the case further will be sub judice.

Sir, in view of the fact that Joel was bashed to death six months after being returned to his parents and the fact that the mother said that he had often been beaten by the father, at least from the newspapers, would the Minister be able to say how, in the assessment by the Ministry officials, this fact was overlooked? Could this be prevented in future if we had a Committee of Inquiry to look into the adjustment and not into the facts of the murder of Joel?

Sir, it is really a question of how long we would want to monitor the case. In this case, as I have mentioned earlier, between the request and the return of Joel, it was four months. And even after the return, it was five months of monitoring by the Ministry. Within these five months the Ministry was able to establish that there was enough evidence for the parents to be able to take care of Joel and there was very good adjustment between Joel and the parents. The question really is how long we want to follow up with the case. Is it a year or two years? Of course, if the Ministry suspects that something is wrong, the Ministry would continue to monitor. But in this particular case, the Ministry at that point in time was able to assess that the parents were able to take care of the child and Joel himself was able to adjust to his parents.

Sir, would the Minister agree that it is not just the time but the quality of assessment? Without questioning the officers' competence, I would like to ask the Minister to consider whether more training could be given to the officials who monitored the child and the relationship between the parents, because the child was battered to death soon after the officials stopped monitoring and there was a history of repeated violence towards the child. How could we have missed this? And could we make sure that this does not happen again? In the light of that, would the Minister consider a Committee of Inquiry?

Sir, I still do not think that a Committee of Inquiry is necessary. It is a question of the efficiency of the officers looking into the case and, as I said, it is a question of time. Because at that point in time, nobody could really say for sure what would happen and whether the problem would recur or not. Based on the facts available then, it was established that Joel was able to return to his parents. But certainly, we will continue to look into ways where we can better monitor such cases, especially in the light of this case.

Sir, would the Minister tell the House whether the officials were able to find out whether there was any physical violence in the home or they were satisfied that the violence was contained? Or did they find no history and no evidence of physical violence towards the child?

Sir, as I remember, at that point in time when my officers went to visit the child and the parents, there was no evidence of assault. If assault had happened after that, and unless we continue to monitor the child on and on and year after year, we will not be able to find out whether there was any lapse in the relationship between the parents and child.

asked the Minister for Law what was the total asset of Credit Consultant (Asia) Pte Ltd when the Official Assignee and Public Trustee/Receiver took over at its winding-up (No. 229 of 1993); how many debtors have already received their dividends; and how was it assigned to the debtors.

Sir, when the Official Receiver began administering the affairs of the wound-up company, the assets comprised cash of $12.4 million and some plant and machinery. Following realisation of the assets of the company by the Official Receiver, the total assets available for distribution amounted to $12.8 million. The Official Receiver pays dividends to the creditors, not debtors, of the wound- up company. As of today, 1,290 creditors have received dividends. Thirteen preferential creditors such as CPF, IRAS and employees of Credit Consultants were paid in full. The first dividend of 30% to 1,277 ordinary creditors was declared on 14th September 1994 and the second and final dividend to them of 11.4% was declared on 3rd August 1995. 3.00 pm

Order. End of Question time. [Pursuant to Standing Order No. 21(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 13 and 14 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the section, 'Oral Answers to Questions Not Reached' (Cols.1551 - 1552).]

"to amend the Land Acquisition Act (Chapter 152 of the 1985 Revised Edition)", presented by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Law (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Patents Act (Chapter 221 of the 1995 Revised Edition)", presented by Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 68 of the 1985 Revised Edition)", presented by Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Immigration Act (Chapter 133 of the 1995 Revised Edition)", presented by the Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Abdullah Tarmugi) read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Employment of Foreign Workers Act (Chapter 91A of the 1991 Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Labour (Dr Lee Boon Yang); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Employment Act (Chapter 91 of the 1985 Revised Edition) and to make related amendments to the Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 136 of the 1985 Revised Edition)", presented by Dr Lee Boon Yang; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, before I move the motion, may I have your permission to correct a typographical error? The word "situation" in the motion should be in the plural. It was my error.

Yes, please proceed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That leave be given to introduce a Bill to make provision for the protection of family members in situations of family violence. Question proposed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I refer the House to the comments made by the Acting Minister for Community Development just now. He has said that we are going to amend the Women's Charter and among one of the major provisions would be family violence. Is this House going to be asked to debate on two pieces of legislation which sound the same? Would it not be a waste of resources?

Dr Soin, do you wish to reply?

Mr Speaker, Sir, with due respect, I think the two Bills are different. The Family Violence Bill extends beyond Protection Orders for women. The Family Violence Bill extends to other members of the family. Besides spouses and children in the family, it extends to the elderly. And from statistics that have been revealed, there were 132 elderly people who reported to public sector hospitals in 1994 after having been bashed up by family members. I find it difficult to see how violence towards the elderly male can be included under the Women's Charter. Furthermore, Mr Speaker, Sir, the Women's Charter only deals with Protection Orders, while the Family Violence Bill is going to empower the Police to investigate all cases of domestic or family violence and this provision is not available in the Women's Charter. With due respect, Sir, only three sections, ie, sections 68, 69 and 70, in the Women's Charter deal with violence towards women and children in the family. So I think it would be more sensible and tidier if sections 68, 69 and 70 were repealed in the Women's Charter, and we have a new Bill which serves a definite purpose. Family violence is a concrete offence and we need to send a definite message to society that we do not condone it. By just amending the Women's Charter, we will be achieving a very limited objective. I would like to entreat the House to at least allow the introduction of the Family Violence Bill so that Members can make up their mind at the Second Reading stage and recommendations can then be made at the Select Committee.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I thought the operative word was "family" and the Minister has said that the amendment to the Women's Charter will include situations involving the family. So I would imagine that it is quite fair to include the Family Violence Bill. The Member has said that the Women's Charter is for women. I would agree if, in her Bill, we can also include crimes by women against men.

Mr Speaker, Sir, notwithstanding what the Member has said about my proposal to amend the Women's Charter and also what I have mentioned earlier about the proposed amendments to the Women's Charter, I really have no objection to the introduction of the Bill. We will debate it in Parliament.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That leave be given to introduce a Bill to make provision for the protection of family members in situations of family violence.

Who is prepared to introduce the Bill?

I, Sir.

Please proceed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to make provision for the protection of family members in situations of family violence and to make provisions for purposes connected therewith." Bill read the First time.

Second Reading, what day?

The next available sitting, Sir.

So be it.

Order for Second Reading read.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Singapore Academy of Law (Amendment) Bill 1995 seeks to amend the Singapore Academy of Law Act (Cap. 294A) (`the Act') for the first time since the Act was enacted in 1988. Under the leadership of the Chief Justice who is the President of the Academy's Senate, the Academy, over the past six years, has made significant contributions in the fields of continuing legal education, law reform and legal publications. Its many activities and dining facilities have fostered a collegiate atmosphere amongst members of the Judiciary, Bar, Academia and Legal Service. Sir, many renowned speakers have spoken at the Academy's Continuing Education series. The Lord Chief Justice of England launched the Annual Lecture Series last year by delivering the inaugural lecture. Several recommendations of the Academy's Law Reform Committee have become legislation. These include the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment) Act 1995, the International Arbitration Act 1994 and the Sale of Goods (United Nations Convention) Act 1995. Sir, the Singapore Law Reports, published with the authority of the Academy since 1992, has established its place both locally and overseas as the source of Singapore reported decisions. The Singapore Academy of Law Journal is a reputable legal journal published twice a year. The Academy Digest, which provides a fortnightly summary of all written Singapore High Court judgements, has become a reference source for some 250 law firms since its introduction in March this year. Sir, with the foundations solidly established, the Academy now proposes to take on a bigger role. This Bill will provide the framework for such a role. To do this effectively, the governing body, the Senate, will be restructured. Also, more categories of persons will become Fellows of the Academy. In addition, other provisions of the Act will be fine-tuned in the light of developments in the administration of justice and experience gained in the running of the Academy. Sir, let me now take the House through the main components of the Bill. Firstly, the Senate will be streamlined and strengthened. Under the Act, the Senate is the governing body of the Academy and may perform all the functions and exercise all such powers of the Academy as it thinks fit. Currently, persons who have, since 1980, held the office of Attorney-General, Judge of the Supreme Court, Judicial Commissioner or Dean of the Law Faculty for not less than two years are automatically members of the Senate. The Bill proposes that only current office-holders become ex-officio members of the Senate. It is unfair to burden retired office-holders, who have ceased to be actively involved in the administration of the law, as ex-officio members. Instead, a retired office-holder who is able and willing to contribute can be appointed as one of the nine appointed members of the Senate, which will now be for one year instead of the current two. Sir, this proposal (given effect to by clause 4 re-enacting section 5 of the Act) will prevent the Senate from becoming too unwieldy. The Senate presently has 41 members. But for this amendment, it will grow even bigger as more office-holders retire. With its enhanced role, it is necessary also to add two ex-officio members to the Senate. They are the Solicitor-General as the Second Law Officer and the Chairman of the Board of Legal Education as the authority in charge of post-graduate legal qualifications for admission to the bar. Secondly, Sir, more categories of persons will become Fellows. Any person who has since January 1980 been a Judge of the Supreme Court, a Judicial Commissioner or a Law Officer for at least two years will become a Fellow of the Academy. This will serve as a mark of distinction in recognition of their services to the legal profession. A Vice-President of the Academy will also be a Fellow. Clause 9 will re-enact section 12 of the Act for this purpose. Thirdly, the Academy will play a larger role. Clause 3 amends section 4 of the Act to expand the functions and powers of the Academy to give it a larger role in propelling the legal sector and administration of justice into the 21st Century. Sir, let me give the House some examples of this larger role. First, promoting the standing of the legal profession. Sir, as we regionalise, the Academy will play its part in promoting the reputation of our legal profession in the region and elsewhere. Also, recognising the contribution of the Law Reform Committee and promoting law reform, the functions of the Academy will be amended to expressly include the promotion of the reform and development of the law. Second, LawNet Secretariat and the Technology Court. The Chief Justice and Attorney-General have proposed that the Academy take over the functions and operations of the LawNet Secretariat in 1996. The LawNet Council agrees to this proposal. The Academy will assume a more active role in promoting and facilitating the use of information technology in the legal sector. By levying a reasonable charge for its LawNet services, the operation of the Secretariat will be self-financing. The Academy has plans to provide consultancy, bureau and training services on legal technology. An example is the proposed electronic filing system for court documents. These services will be provided not just to lawyers but also to para-legals and administrators in law firms. In order to achieve these objectives, the Bill gives the Academy the power to form companies and participate in arrangements, agreements and joint ventures. Third, Practice Law Course and scholarship funds. In the field of legal education, the Bill provides the legal framework for the Academy to conduct training, education and examinations in subjects of law, and, if necessary, take over the running of the Practice Law Course from the Board of Legal Education in the future. This will allow better use of its resources as the Academy has an on-going continuing education programme. As a corollary, the Bill will empower the Academy to receive, manage and administer scholarship funds. Sir, one other amendment I should mention relates to the appointment of Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths. To further improve the system of these appointments, the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General have proposed that the appointing authorities be changed from the AG (in the case of Notaries Public) and CJ (in the case of Commissioners for Oaths) to the Senate of the Academy. It is also proposed that an annual fee be payable to the Academy for processing the first appointment and thereafter annual applications for renewal. As the appointing authority, it follows that the Senate will also have to authenticate the signatures of notaries public on documents for use overseas. This is a function currently performed by the AG. Clauses 11 and 12 of the Bill will make consequential amendments to the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap. 322) and the Notaries Public Act (Cap. 208) to give effect to this proposal. Sir, this Bill has been circulated to members of the Senate, comprising representatives of the various branches of the profession. The Senate has endorsed the changes. After this Bill becomes law, I understand that the Academy will be amending its rules for new committees to be formed to implement its enhanced functions. The Bill allows non-lawyers such as computer professionals who can contribute to the Academy's work to sit on these committees. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 3.19 pm

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 1995 gives legislative effect to income tax changes announced in the 1995 Budget Statement, and other changes not announced in that Statement. I shall begin with the tax changes that were announced in the 1995 Budget Statement. First, on changes pertaining to foreign income received in Singapore. At present, a Singapore company does not have to pay Singapore tax on foreign income received if tax exemption has been granted or if the foreign tax credit is equal to or more than the Singapore tax payable. Such income received by shareholders of the company is also tax-exempt provided they hold at least 50% stake in the company. However, this is currently limited to two levels of shareholding. I have announced that such foreign income would be exempt beyond the two levels of shareholding if the 50% shareholding requirement is satisfied. In addition, I have also announced that the 50% shareholding requirement may be waived on a case-by-case basis. Clauses 7 and 8 amend sections 13 and 13E to provide for these changes. Currently, Singapore companies deriving foreign dividend income from countries whose tax rates are comparable to or higher than Singapore's do not have to pay Singapore tax on such income provided they own at least 25% of the company paying the dividends. As there are cases of large multi-party ventures where the Singapore holding company may have less than 25% shareholding, I have announced that the 25% requirement would be waived on a case-by-case basis. Clause 25 amends section 50A to enable the Minister to waive this requirement for deserving cases. To further encourage companies to invest and expand into the region, I have announced that approved expenses incurred by companies to promote master franchising and master licensing activities overseas would be granted double tax deduction. Clauses 10 and 11 amend sections 14B and 14C to provide for this tax change. A tax incentive was also introduced to foster the development of the domestic unit trust industry. With this incentive, all income except Singapore dividends received by approved unit trusts will no longer be taxed at the level of the unit trust. The tax treatment of distributions made out of unit trust income will depend on the type of income and the tax status of the recipients. Clauses 3, 4, 12, 18 and 23 amend various sections of the Act to provide for this incentive. Another tax incentive announced was to encourage offshore aircraft leasing activities. At present, aircraft leasing companies which operate from Singapore enjoy a 10% concessionary rate of tax on income derived from offshore aircraft leasing. To complement this concessionary tax treatment, I have announced that approved aircraft leasing companies would also be allowed the flexibility to depreciate their aircraft over 20 years instead of the normal five years. Clause 16 amends section 19(2) for this purpose. Members may recall that I have announced in an earlier Budget to allow general provisions made by banks and merchant banks to cushion themselves against unforeseen losses in their loan and investment portfolios to be tax deductible. The limit allowed for deduction is either 25% of qualifying profits or one quarter percent of qualifying assets, whichever is lower. In addition, the total amount of general provisions eligible for tax deduction is limited to 2% of qualifying assets. To encourage banks to set aside a greater proportion of their profits as general provisions, I have decided to increase the limit for deduction from one quarter percent to half percent of qualifying assets. Clause 13 amends section 141 for this extension of the incentive. I have announced the increase in the limit for tax deduction for CPF contributions, inclusive of compulsory Medisave contributions, by self-employed persons. The present limit for such deductions is 18.5% of assessable income from self-employment, subject to a maximum of $13,320. The limit will be increased to 20% of the assessable income from self-employment, subject to a maximum of $14,400 with effect from the Year of Assessment 1996. Clause 19 amends section 39 to effect the change. Following the good performance of the economy last year, I have also announced a one-off 10% rebate on personal income tax payable for the Year of Assessment 1995. Clause 28 provides for this rebate. I shall now deal with the tax changes not announced in the 1995 Budget Statement. Several of these changes are needed to streamline and improve tax administration. Members may be aware that, at present, employers are required to prepare and deliver a return in the prescribed form to the Comptroller of Income Tax. The Act, however, does not explicitly require employers to send a copy of this form to their employees as well, though it is required by the employees in declaring their annual employment income in their income tax returns. Clause 27 thus amends section 68(2) to make it clear that such returns are to be made to the Comptroller of Income Tax as well as to any persons specified by him through a Gazette notification. Another change pertains to the collection of tax arrears from taxpayers. At present, the Act empowers the Comptroller of Income Tax to appoint any person as an agent of the taxpayer concerned. Such an agent is then required to pay any tax due by the taxpayer from the taxpayer's monies held in the agent's custody. However, in the event that the taxpayer holds monies in a joint bank account or has proceeds from the sale of a property to which he has a share, the Comptroller is unable to garnish from such joint-interest. This is a tax loophole which should be closed. I have thus decided to amend the Act to empower the Comptroller to garnish from such joint-interests. Clause 26 thus amends section 57 for this purpose. Members may be aware that it is provided in the Goods and Services Tax Act that if the supply of goods and services is for a consideration in money, the consideration received by the traders should be inclusive of the GST chargeable. However, there are some traders who, contrary to the GST Act, treated the price paid by customers as exclusive of GST and have claimed that the so-called "absorbed" GST as an expense to be deducted from their profits. To discourage such practices, clause 15 amends section 15(1) to disallow such "absorbed" GST to be deducted as an expense. I will now turn to the three amendments that are needed to fine-tune the provisions of our existing tax incentive schemes. The first relates to our tax incentive for shipping companies. Currently, any balancing charge arising from the sale of a vessel operated under certain tax incentive schemes will not be deemed to be income chargeable to tax. This tax concession can, however, be exploited by companies who time their entry into the schemes with the sale of their vessels in order to derive this tax-free benefit. To plug this tax loophole, clause 3 amends section 10(4) to provide that only a portion of the balancing charge arising from the sale of such vessels will not be deemed to be income chargeable to tax. The second concerns our tax concession for insurance companies. Insurance companies are taxed at a concessionary tax rate of 10% in respect of profits derived from the offshore business. At present, this tax concession is granted automatically to all insurance companies which carry out offshore insurance activities. However, under certain circumstances, some insurance companies may not wish to enjoy the tax concession. Clause 20 thus amends section 43C to allow the Minister to grant the tax concession on an approval basis. The third tax change relates to the art and antique market. To attract offshore activities to Singapore and facilitate Singapore's development into an international art and antique market, I had announced in the 1993 Budget a 10% concessionary tax rate for income derived by approved art and antique dealers from transactions on behalf of non-residents through approved auction houses. To further promote the art and antique market, I have decided to lift the condition that such activities must be carried out through approved auction houses. Clause 21 amends section 43L for this change. The next two amendments pertain to the taxation of individuals. To encourage private sector employers to follow the Government's lead in providing employees with additional Medisave contributions in lieu of hospitalisation benefits, I have decided to allow employers tax deduction for similar Medisave contribution made on behalf of their employees. The employees will also be exempt from tax on such Medisave contributions made by their employers. Clauses 5 and 9 amend sections 10C and 14 for these tax changes. At present, private sector employees and directors of companies are taxed on non-monetary benefits like car allowances received while similar benefits received by the Chairman and members of statutory boards are not taxed. To be consistent, clause 2 amends section 2 to subject non-monetary benefits provided to Chairman and members of statutory boards to tax. Finally, the last three amendments are needed to clarify certain tax treatment under the Act. Firstly, clause 3 amends section 10 of the Act to clarify the meaning of "income received in Singapore from outside Singapore". The amendment makes clear the circumstances under which foreign-sourced income falls within the meaning of "received in Singapore". This gives certainty and will assist taxpayers in complying with the law. At the same time, this amendment also ensures that arrangements to circumvent the intention of the law are prevented. Secondly, clause 6 inserts a new section 10E to the Act to clarify the circumstances under which expenses incurred by a company carrying on the business of holding investment are deductible under the Act. Finally, an amendment relating to tax exemption for charities. At present, the income of a charity is exempt from tax if at least 80% of its income is applied to charitable objects in Singapore in any Year of Assessment. To be clear that the proviso includes donations, clause 7 amends section 13 of the Act to direct charities to apply 80% of their donations and income to charitable objects in Singapore in order to qualify for the tax exemption on their total income. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Amendments are proposed to the Currency Act (Cap. 69) to provide for the control of the importation, manufacture, sale, possession and use of full colour copying machines that can reproduce Singapore currency notes or any design resembling Singapore currency notes. Amendments to the Act are also proposed to update and improve the practices and procedures of the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS). Rapid advances in colour copying technology have made full colour copying machines a threat to the integrity of currency notes. Such machines have become the main media for counterfeiting of currency notes in the world. While we have no serious problem with the counterfeiting of currency notes in Singapore at the present time, there is a need to take preventive measures to ensure that such problem will not surface here in the future. Since 1979, BCCS has maintained control on the import of colour photocopying machines through the Control of Imports, Exports and Transhipment (Endorsement) (Amendment) Order. Anyone importing colour photocopying machines into Singapore is required to obtain the endorsement of the Board on the Inward Declaration Form before the machines are allowed to be brought into Singapore. Under the Order, BCCS has the authority to allow or disallow the import of the colour copiers, but it has no legal power against any importer, manufacturer or owner of such colour copying machines who violates the conditions for importation imposed by the Board. Clause 2 of the Bill will empower the Board to control the importation, manufacture, sale, possession and use of full colour copying machines. The clause also provides clearer definition of the offences and penalties for such offences. The other amendments to the Currency Act are to update and improve the procedures of the Board. These include: (a) Clause 3, which allows the Board to charge expenses relating to the investment of the Currency Reserve Fund to the Currency Fund Income Account; and (b) Clause 4, which confers protection from personal liability on any member, officer or employee of the Board for anything done in good faith in the execution or purported execution of the Act. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn to a date to be fixed." -[Dr Lee Boon Yang]. Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-Two Minutes to Four o'clock pm to a date to be fixed.

asked the Minister for Law what was the total asset of Credit Consultant (Asia) Pte Ltd when the Official Assignee and Public Trustee/Receiver took over at its winding-up (No.229 of 1993); how many debtors have already received their dividends; and how was it assigned to the debtors.

When the Official Receiver began administering the affairs of the wound-up company, the assets comprised cash of $12.4 million and some plant and machinery. Following realisation of the assets of the company by the Official Receiver, the total assets available for distribution amounted to $12.8 million. The Official Receiver pays dividends to the creditors, not debtors, of the wound-up company. As of today, 1,290 creditors have received dividends. The 13 preferential creditors such as CPF, IRAS and employees of Credit Consultants were paid in full. The first dividend of 30% to 1,277 ordinary creditors was declared on 14th September 1994 and the second and final dividend to them of 11.4% was declared on 3rd August 1995. The Member will appreciate that there were a large number of creditors whose claims had to be carefully examined by the Official Receiver so that there could be an equitable distribution of dividends. In determining the dividends the Official Receiver examined the proofs of debts filed by individual creditors as against accounts of the creditors as stated in the books of the Company, outstanding balances in the creditors' accounts as disclosed by a Director of the Company in his statement of affairs filed with the Official Receiver and the statement of balance of accounts prepared by the Commercial Affairs Department.

asked the Minister for National Development whether the Housing and Development Board rental flats at Changi Village Road will be offered for sale.

The residents' desires have been noted and HDB will do its best to accommodate the request when planning the subsequent batches under the Sale of Flats to Sitting Tenants Scheme.

asked the Minister for Law if he will give the number of Protection Orders, Expedited Orders and Domestic Exclusion Orders issued by the Courts from 1990 to 1994 with a breakdown for each year.

The statistics requested are given below: Statistics On Spousal Violence For the Years 1990 to Jan - Jun 95 Year/Type of Order 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Jan - Jun 1995 No. of Orders Issued 240 230 319 512 505 428 Personal Protection Order 150 130 175 296 284 287 PPO (with power of arrest) * * 5 18 95 39 Expedited Order 82 94 131 186 108 86 Domestic Exclusion Order 8 6 8 12 18 16 * Figures for PPO with power of arrest are not captured for years 1990 and 1991.

asked the Minister for Home Affairs, from 1990 to 1994, how many victims reported to the police incidents of physical violence or threats of physical violence from their family members and what proportion of these reported cases was investigated by the police.

Police began classifying seizable cases of domestic violence as a sub-category of seizable offences in 1993. The numbers of seizable cases involving domestic violence were 112 and 135 in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Police investigated all these cases. For non-seizable cases, Police started to monitor cases of voluntary causing hurt in 1994. In 1994, 3,625 cases of voluntary causing hurt involving family members were reported to the Police. About half of these cases were followed-up by way of arrest, summons, warning or referral to other departments for assistance. For the remaining, the victims made the Police Report for record purposes.

asked the Minister for Home Affairs what effective measures are being considered by his Ministry to reduce the number of "handphone driving" offences.

Phone-driving is an inconsiderate driving behaviour that poses a danger to road users. The Police has stepped up enforcement against phone drivers. In 1994, 2,838 motorists were booked for phone-driving compared with 395 in 1993. From January to August this year, 1,837 were booked for phone-driving. Apart from stepping up enforcement, the Police has also been encouraging motorists to install hands-free sets. Although the number of motorists booked for phone-driving has increased, the problem has not gone out of hand to warrant increasing the current penalties. Currently, a motorist who phone-drives is committing an offence of driving without due care or reasonable consideration under Section 65 of the Road Traffic Act. The penalty is a fine of $170 or $200 for drivers of light and heavy vehicles respectively. The offence also carries 9 demerit points. We will monitor the situation closely. My Ministry will not hesitate to increase the penalties if the situation so requires.

asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many spouses and other family members were taken to the police station for a "cooling-off period" after incidents of domestic violence from 1992 to 1994; (b) if he is able to assess the success of this measure in stopping further domestic violence and (c) if he will explain the provisions under which the above measure is carried out.

When a Police officer responds to a call in a family violence situation, and the dispute is in progress when he arrives, the officer would try to defuse and cool the situation on the spot to stop any breach of peace. If this is unsuccessful, the parties concerned will be brought to the Police Station or NPP for statements to be taken and for investigation. This procedure has the effect of further helping to cool the situation. In a case where a seizable offence has been committed, the Police will prosecute the offender if there is sufficient evidence. In non-seizable cases, the Police, depending on the situation, would issue a warning to the perpetrator. The Police is empowered to do this under section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Chapter 68. Statistics on the number of occasions when persons are brought to the Police Station or NPP in a domestic violence situation are not readily available.

asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether he is aware of any trends in the number of cinema seats and whether he is able to ascribe any reasons for such changes.

Trend in Seating Capacity Following the trend in developed countries, many of our existing cinemas with seating capacity of about 1,000 have been converted into cineplexes with multiple halls, each with seating capacity of 300-400. In new cineplexes, seating capacity is even smaller, from 200 to 300 seats. Smaller cineplex cinemas are more economical to operate. There is better utilisation of seating capacity with minimal empty seats for each screening. Overall, less manpower is required because of the sharing of overheads for film projection, ticketing and F&B sales. As cineplexes are typically located in shopping complexes with food/shopping outlets, they cater to the whole family, offering a choice of films for both adults and children. Because operating costs per film are reduced, it is more profitable to operate cineplexes instead of single-hall cinemas. From 1990 to 1994, the number of single-hall cinemas decreased from 33 to 19. The number of cineplexes increased from 11 to 27. The total number of cinema seats increased from 46,737 to 51,234 between 1990 and 1994. Cinema attendance did not, however, show a corresponding increase. Last year, because of a decline in the availability of good Mandarin movies, cinema attendance declined from 22 million in 1993 to 17 million. Statistics of cinema halls, seats and attendance from 1990 to 1994 is at Annex (Cols. 1567 - 1568). Although the number of cinema seats has been increasing, there is no indication that cinema attendance has been influenced by the introduction of R/A film ratings in September 1991. Annex - STATISTICS OF CINEMA HALLS (SINGLE VS CINEPLEX), SEATS AND ATTENDANCE FROM 1990 TO 1994 (Cols. 1567 - 1568)

asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether he will consider building a regional library in the vicinity of Hougang to serve residents in the area.

Last year, the Government accepted the Library 2000 Review Committees proposal to establish a 3-tier library system - regional libraries, community libraries and neighbourhood libraries. Regional libraries will have a comprehensive range of library services that go beyond the services offered at existing branch libraries. As URA has planned for each regional centre to be a cultural, commercial and technological hub, a regional library will be built at each of the 5 regional centres at Tampines, Jurong East, Woodlands, Seletar and the Central Business District (CBD). In the coming few years, two new regional libraries will be built to serve the CBD and Woodlands. Tampines already has a regional library which is our first. Around each regional library will be community libraries sited near local communities. In the next few years, several community libraries will be built, including one at Cheng San. The National Library Board is still identifying the best site for the Cheng San Community Library. When the library at Cheng San is completed, probably in 1998, it will also serve the residents of Hougang.

asked the Minister for Health what further measures besides random checks and investigations into complaints his Ministry is considering to ensure that 9000 products that are categorised as Chinese Proprietary Medicines or health goods are safe for public consumption.

My Ministry has a regular quality surveillance programme whereby our health inspectors sample preparations of Chinese Proprietory Medicines (CPM) every month to determine their content of heavy toxic metals and whether they are adulterated with any western medicines. If, on analysis the samples are found to contain excessive heavy toxic metals or any western medicines, the products are seized and destroyed. The public will be informed through the press and advised not to purchase or consume these products and to discard the affected products in their possession. The importer or wholesaler or retailer will be charged and prosecuted in court. My Ministry also makes weekly random inspections of Chinese medical halls to ensure that preparations ordered to be taken off the shelves are not put on sale. In addition, all CPM advertisements in the published media must be approved by the Ministry of Health. My Ministry also checks for false claims or claims for cures which are prohibited under the law. My Ministry is currently looking into the need for stricter measures for the control of CPM to be introduced in the future.

asked the Minister for Communications whether he will provide a detailed breakdown on the estimated cost of five billion dollars to construct the North Eastern MRT line.

The breakdown of the estimated cost of a 20 km North Eastern MRT Line with at least 80% of the route underground is as follows: Items Estimated Cost ($ million) Civil & Building Works: (including: tunnels, viaducts, stations) $ 2,300 Electrical and Mechanical Works (including: trains, signalling system, elevators) $ 1,600 Land (including: private land purchase, land premium charges, TOL charges) $ 450 Miscellaneous: (including: project administration, design, insurance, contingencies) $ 650 Total $ 5,000

asked the Minister for Communications whether he foresees the need for Singapore to have eight-digit postal codes in the future.

Under the new 6-digit postal code system, there are 108,000 postcodes in use. This system can provide up to 1 million postcodes. The number of postcodes required by year 2030 is estimated to be 360,000. As such, I do not foresee a need for an 8-digit postcode.

asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many retirees and elderly persons are owners of 3-room flats with no constant source of income and who will be affected by the proposed new Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme in Boon Tiong area and (b) if he will give an assurance that in carrying out this proposed scheme, these persons will not be inconvenienced or have to pay any cash to be housed in new equivalent premises in the same area.

The Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme, or SERS, will involve a total of 384 units in Boon Tiong. Of these units, about one-third are owned by lessees above 60 years of age. HDB does not keep records of the current employment nor sources of income or employment of these lessees. However, HDB does not anticipate any affordability problems. Under SERS, lessees are compensated for their old flat and given assured allocation of a new one. Those who are eligible to buy flats direct from HDB will also get a 20% discount (up to a maximum of $30,000) off the price of the new flat. Finally, the lessees will also be able to sell the entire package to eligible third parties, who are likely to pay the lessees a price premium for the assured allocation and the discounted price. The Boon Tiong site comprises both 3- and 4-room units. However, HDB will not be building new 3-room flats. Depending on the flat-size they choose, 4-room lessees will either reap financial gains from the scheme, or else pay a small amount to move to a new 4-room flat. 3-room lessees will need to pay an amount to buy a new four-room flat. But if they do not want to do so, they can sell their package of benefits, buy a resale 3-room flat and keep the financial gains. In other words, whatever their current financial status, there is always a way for a lessee to move to another home without any additional outlay. The redevelopment of Boon Tiong will be carried out in three phases to minimize disruption. Residents will not be required to move out of their flats during the construction period. They will only move when their new flats are ready for occupation. HDB will continue to take all the necessary measures to minimize the inconvenience caused to the residents.

asked the Minister for National Development for the period Jan 92 to Aug 95, what projects and the amount of grants were given to the Nee Soon South and Sembawang GRCs' Citizens' Consultative Committees respectively.

The answer had already been given in a written answer to the same Member of Parliament during the Parliamentary sitting held on 7 July 1995.

asked the Acting Minister for Community Development if he will give the number of cases reported to his Ministry of elderly abuse, spousal abuse and child abuse for the period 1990 to 1994.

For the past 5-year period, the Ministry of Community Development received: (a) 672 complaints of child abuse; (b) 106 complaints of family dispute involving alleged abuse and neglect of persons; and (c) 49 cases of marital disputes where the main presenting problem was assault. (a) Child Abuse Of the 672 cases of child abuse, 219 (32.6%) cases were assessed to be false complaints while another 281 (41.8%) cases had no evidence of abuse but required casework intervention which includes assistance to the family in areas of the care and management of children, financial assistance or school placement. The 172 cases or 25.6% that had evidence of abuse as determined by medical reports were brought before the Juvenile Court for Care and Protection Orders. The number of cases of child abuse reported has declined over the years. (b) Elderly Abuse Between 1990 - 1994 the Ministry handled a total of 106 cases of family dispute involving aged persons who complained of being neglected or abused. This is an average of 21.2 cases per year. The majority of complaints had to do with alleged denial of financial support or shelter by their adult children. A small number (11 or 10%) complained of physical abuse. Of these, 3 were cases of false complaints. (c) Spousal Abuse During the period, the Ministry dealt with a total of 420 enquiries from women who claimed to be assaulted. They only sought advice on the legal action they could take. The Ministry handled 49 marital dispute cases which had assault as the presenting problem. These cases have been helped through counselling.

asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what are the main reasons for the low uptake of child-care training awards his Ministry offered to child-care teachers and what steps his Ministry is taking to increase the number of takers for the training awards.

There are two types of training schemes available for child care teachers: (a) a three tier in-service training scheme for staff of child care centres; and (b) a pre-service training scheme for those who wish to take up appointments as child care teachers. In-service training courses are conducted on a regular basis by training institutes accreditated by MCD. These include the National Institute of Education, Kinderland Learning Centre, NTUC Childcare Co-operative Ltd, Singapore Institute of Management and Association for Child Care Educators. In FY94, a total of 976 teachers were trained, 572 at Basic, 314 at Intermediate and 90 at Advanced levels. We are satisfied with the numbers trained at in-service courses. The pre-service training scheme was introduced in 1990 by the Ministry to increase the pool of child care teachers by providing pre-service training for those interested in becoming child care teachers. Under the scheme, the Ministry pays for the fees and gives an allowance to the trainees for the duration of the course. The trainees are required to sign an undertaking with the Ministry to work in a child care centre for 2 years after graduation. Upon completion of the course, they are employed by child care centres. Five pre-service courses have been conducted and a total of 261 persons have been trained. The number of persons attending the pre-service course has however dropped. The main reason given by those who rejected the programme indicate that they find it more attractive to join a child care centre and be sponsored by the centre for the in-service training rather than enrol for the pre-service training. As an untrained child care teacher, they get between $650 pm to $750 pm against the $300 monthly allowance given to them when they attend the pre-service training. Also, the commitment of a full-time course (8 months) is too heavy especially when they have no prior experience working in a child care centre. We have taken the following steps to increase the intake of the pre-service training programme: (a) asked child care centres to bring the training programme to the attention of people they know who have expressed an interest in child care work; (b) conducted a briefing on careers in child care, in particular with reference to the pre-service course; (c) provided information on the pre-service training through MCD's hotline; (d) made press releases, press advertisements and an interview with TCS to advertise the course; (e) made intake more flexible by allowing the training agencies to recruit their own private candidates to the course; (f) allowed candidates without credit in English in their GCE 'O' Level to do a simplified English proficiency test for admission to the course. My Ministry will continue to monitor the situation. If the pre-service course continues to be unattractive, we will have to review it. Annex - STATISTICS OF CINEMA HALLS (SINGLE VS CINEPLEX), SEATS AND ATTENDANCE FROM 1990 TO 1994 (Cols. 1567 - 1568)