Youngest youth in Yishun slashing only 13

[dietcoke]

For those that are deemed too young by the law to be severely punished, do you think that the parents should be punished?

I think they should.
Firstly, it will make the parents of other wayward children control their kids better. Secondly, it will make parents think twice before they neglect or abandon their children or even have children in the first place.
Thirdly, if these gangster children care for their parents, they will think twice before indulging in violent gang activities. Don't be surprised if there are many of these, who love their parents but won't hesitate to kill a member of another gang or even a stranger.

nice thoughts, but i don't think it will work out. no pun intended, but i personally know some gangsters in sec school. they usually comes from broken family that even their parents have problem putting the bread on the table. therefore, some parents might even think that it is best for their gangster sons to go jail, at least got food, lodging and studies.

from what i see, some of the parents have no choice but to neglect their children. its either work for money and neglect children, or care for children and neglect work. most often, they would choose the former.

i agree on your third point, however, teenagers at their age are easily influenced by their peers. so much that they will put their gang first, family second in the heat of the moment.

and no, i'm not saying that parents are not to blame. however, its only partially, because in the end, its up to how the teenager choose their own idol to follow.

 

[jw5]

nice thoughts, but i don't think it will work out. no pun intended, but i personally know some gangsters in sec school. they usually comes from broken family that even their parents have problem putting the bread on the table. therefore, some parents might even think that it is best for their gangster sons to go jail, at least got food, lodging and studies.

from what i see, some of the parents have no choice but to neglect their children. its either work for money and neglect children, or care for children and neglect work. most often, they would choose the former.

i agree on your third point, however, teenagers at their age are easily influenced by their peers. so much that they will put their gang first, family second in the heat of the moment.

and no, i'm not saying that parents are not to blame. however, its only partially, because in the end, its up to how the teenager choose their own idol to follow.

Thanks for your points.

What I'm hoping is that if the parents know that they will be punished, they will do more to prevent their young kids from joining gangs or killing others, instead of just relying on the legal system to punish the kids for them. These people are selfish, some may not even mind the state punishing their uncontrollable kids, but they may do more if they themselves have to face the music. Note that this suggestion is only for teenagers who kill someone, not for other teenaged crimes or to punish the parents of an adult killer.

It's true that many of these kids are from broken homes, where the parents are living from hand to mouth. Hoping once again that if such laws are introduced, the parents will think twice about abandoning or neglecting them or even having children. Moreover, not all of them are poor. The teenaged killer who injured himself while trying to escape, his parents hired a lawyer the moment he was charged. Accused people are entitled to legal representation, but somehow, that news report really pissed me off.