Is having a low IQ a crime? That is simply how these people are. I have got dealings with them during some of the community service work which I did in the past, and there are really those who are unable to determine what is right and wrong, and have problem with self discipline or control.
A low IQ teentage and her mother went to see MP Cynthia Phua for help. Their financial situation was in jeopardy.
The unwed mother with Primary 6 education gets by on a $400 monthly salary as a part-time cleaner.
He attended a special school and suffers from thalassemia, a blood disorder that renders him weak and sickly.
The mother said that things went from bad to worse in November 2004 when the boy’s father disappeared and stopped paying the $300 monthly maintenance due to her.
As a result, she visited the MPS about once a month for the past few years to request for various kinds of financial aid.
January this year saw a crisis unfold in tehir lives when the mother broke her wrist after falling off a chair while cleaning a fan. She hasn’t worked since.
She said the HDB was tehn in the middle of repossessing her flat and giving her a rental unit, but she was unable to pay the $138 in retnal deposit and stamp duty.
Source: The New Paper (Printed Edition)
And this was what happened:
She asked him, ‘Who are you? What are you doing? Why aren’t you working?’” she claimed.
The mother said she wanted to explain her son’s condition, but wasn’t given a chance.
“I felt that we were being scolded,” she said.
The meeting ended after two or three minutes, she said.
As they were walking out, the son snapped.
His outburst with the chair – two blows against the glass door, which didn’t break – was “Strong enough to get someone killed”, said the Serangoon PAP branch secretary, Mr Poon Mun Wat.
As grassroots volunteers scrambled to calm down the teenager, his mother begged a neighbor to whisk him home immediately.
Later that night, the police arrived at their flat and arrested him. He was released on bail at about 1am.
The teenager even apologized for this actions, but MP Cynthia said it is not up to her.
“I made it very clear to (the mother) that this is unacceptable behavior. It is not justifiable in any circumstance. There is no excuse to be violent,” Mrs Lim told The New Paper.
She also explained that she was not in a position to excuse or forgive the boy.
“I was not present and the police are investigating into the matter. I believe the police will take into consideration the mitigating factors,” said Mrs Lim.
What is more interesting, is MP Lim Wee Hua, whom the office belongs to, is scared to death of the chair.
“There is a clear line between being frustrated or disappointed and being violent. The thrown chair could have killed somebody.” – MP Lim Wee Hua said to Straits Times on 7 May 2009
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First thing to clarify, the MP called for the boy’s arrest? It was mentioned in your title, but not in the post…just to make sure. ^^
It does seem fishy that the blows “strong enough to get someone killed” didn’t break the glass door. But then again, maybe it’s made of bullet proof glass? xD
Vicissitudes of Life
It does show the class divide between the PAP MPs nad the people they were supposed to serve isn’t it.
The attitude and reaction of all of the MPs and a new minister and staff clearly reflected this.
It prompted PM Lee to comment later that MPs are SUPPOSED to care for people when he made a speech to the SMA.