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home 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 2008 PAGE B13

NATIONAL FAMILY VIOLENCE SYMPOSIUM

Principal wins award


BY MELISSA SIM and four groups in winning the award. said the boy came from a troubled home
The plaudits were handed out yesterday and was dying for attention.
ABOUT 18 months ago, when a pupil at the National Family Violence Network- “He saw me coming across the corri-
from Stamford Primary School ran away, ing Symposium, which brought together dor, so he put a few stolen wallets on the
principal Yong Cheng Huat headed a 450 professionals to talk about young vic- floor, and then folded them back and put
team that searched the Geylang Bahru ar- tims of abuse and how to break the cycle them in his bag.”
ea he frequented. of inter-generational violence. Mr Yong referred the case to a Family
The number of child abuse cases last Service Centre, a voluntary welfare organ-
It was one of several times the
year hit 98, up from 58 in 2006. But it isation which deals with troubled fami-
52-year-old Mr Yong had gone beyond
was an improvement from the 101 cases lies. When there was no progress in his be-
the call of duty to help the boy, who came haviour, he notified the MCYS.
in 2005, according to official figures.
from a troubled background. The symposium yesterday also marked
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for
For that work and his efforts in bridg- the Ministry of Community Develop- the launch of the revised manual on the
ing gaps between schools and social wel- ment, Youth and Sports (MCYS), said the management of child abuse in Singapore.
fare agencies, Mr Yong was awarded the role of protecting vulnerable persons is a A new chapter on child sexual abuse
Family Violence Dialogue Group Apprecia- shared responsibility. was added. In this chapter, for example,
tion Award yesterday. Effective protection needs “active in- there are guidelines on how joint inter-
The honour goes to those who pro- volvement of professionals, the communi- views – involving both the police and the
mote cooperation between agencies like ty, and people who are in regular contact social worker – should be done. This
the police, hospitals, government minis- with the families”, he said. would prevent a child from recounting an
tries and voluntary welfare organisations. Mr Yong has been helping the pupil unpleasant episode numerous times. Mr Yong Cheng Huat (right) receiving the Family Violence Dialogue Group Appreciation Award from
Mr Yong joined four other individuals who ran away for the last three years. He simlinoi@sph.com.sg Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH AND SPORTS

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