Debated in Parliament on 7 Oct 2014.
Mr Mohd Ismail Hussein asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are statistics or studies on the number of divorces, suicides and broken homes arising from debt problems with unlicensed or licensed moneylenders; and (b) what are the avenues available for the debtors' children and spouses, who are often silent victims, to seek help.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development) : Mdm Speaker, oftentimes, the factors leading to divorces and suicides are complex and multifaceted and are not linked to a single cause. Therefore, there is no data on divorces and suicides caused directly by debt problems with moneylenders. Having said that, we are very aware of the problems that debts can cause. Family Service Centres and social workers are, in fact, trained in this area to help the families affected by debt issues.
I am glad to announce that a self-help resource toolkit to address frequently raised issues in this area will soon be made available to all the 43 Family Service Centres (FSCs) islandwide. This toolkit is a result of the collaboration between the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and the Pro Bono Services Office of the Law Society of Singapore. This toolkit will provide information on how to protect one's assets as well as how to deal with legal issues related to family violence and divorces.
For families who need financial help for day-to-day expenses, they can apply for ComCare assistance at our various Social Services Offices.
I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the response. I have one supplementary question. But just to give some context to my question, I have attended a support group session for people experiencing debt problems. Invariably, there are a lot of emotions, psychological trauma and shame involved. What strikes me is that the real victims are actually not there and they have declined to come forward. When I say "the real victims", I am talking about the family members. The people that we meet are the debtors. But the people who are experiencing difficulty have declined to come and be counselled. The issue here is the outreach – how can we reach out to these people who are suffering in silence?
I thank the Member for the very thoughtful point that he has made. We work very closely with the 43 FSCs and all the social workers. Having said that, it really
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takes two hands to clap. Other than the family members coming forward to the FSCs to seek help, we do need the family members who have issues with debt or maybe issues with gamble addiction, to also step forward. So, we certainly will continue to take a very family-centric approach with regard to counselling or rendering of financial assistance to make sure that the root of the family issue is being solved and divorces or suicides and other issues are minimised.
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