Govt may act against children who dump their elderly parents
CHILDREN who dump their elderly parents in hospitals or nursing homes could be taken to task and forced to help pay for their parents' care.
The Government will study how best to use the Maintenance of Parents Act to get such children to do their filial duty, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night during his National Day Rally speech in Mandarin.
This came about after he met several nursing home managers who told him of old folk abandoned by their families.
The children of these old folk had said they would not care even if the homes decided to kick their parents out, he recounted. Some even changed the addresses on their identity cards so that they could not be located.
This will not do, said PM Lee, who also dismissed the line taken by some who say 'there is no filial son for long-term illness'.
The Maintenance of Parents Act, which has been around since 1996, allows parents to go to the Family Court and sue their children for financial maintenance.
Last year, 67 parents did so.
Last month, The Straits Times reported that some Singaporeans were using the recession as an excuse to avoid paying their parents' nursing home bills - even though they looked like they could afford to, said the operators of these homes.
To deal with such recalcitrant families, one home has hired debt collectors.
The Act now allows only parents to take their children to court.
But Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng said recently that the law may be changed to allow a third party to take unfilial children to task, should the parents themselves not be able to do so.
If that comes about, nursing homes would be able to do so on behalf of their patients.
PM Lee yesterday said stories of children lacking filial piety caused him great discomfort.
The Government has a duty to look after the elderly, he said, but it cannot replace the love and warmth of a family.
CHILDREN who dump their elderly parents in hospitals or nursing homes could be taken to task and forced to help pay for their parents' care.
The Government will study how best to use the Maintenance of Parents Act to get such children to do their filial duty, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night during his National Day Rally speech in Mandarin.
This came about after he met several nursing home managers who told him of old folk abandoned by their families.
The children of these old folk had said they would not care even if the homes decided to kick their parents out, he recounted. Some even changed the addresses on their identity cards so that they could not be located.
This will not do, said PM Lee, who also dismissed the line taken by some who say 'there is no filial son for long-term illness'.
The Maintenance of Parents Act, which has been around since 1996, allows parents to go to the Family Court and sue their children for financial maintenance.
Last year, 67 parents did so.
Last month, The Straits Times reported that some Singaporeans were using the recession as an excuse to avoid paying their parents' nursing home bills - even though they looked like they could afford to, said the operators of these homes.
To deal with such recalcitrant families, one home has hired debt collectors.
The Act now allows only parents to take their children to court.
But Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng said recently that the law may be changed to allow a third party to take unfilial children to task, should the parents themselves not be able to do so.
If that comes about, nursing homes would be able to do so on behalf of their patients.
PM Lee yesterday said stories of children lacking filial piety caused him great discomfort.
The Government has a duty to look after the elderly, he said, but it cannot replace the love and warmth of a family.
