"If I were the trial judge, I would have imposed a harsher sentence," the appellate judge stated to the defendant on 22/4. The mother's appeal was subsequently rejected, and the original sentence of one week in jail and a 9,100 SGD fine (approximately 190 million VND) was upheld.

The 42-year-old woman faced prosecution on two charges: providing false information to a public servant and fraudulently altering residence details.

The court highlighted the woman's calculated and selfish motives, noting that her actions deprived more deserving students of enrollment opportunities. Her behavior, the court concluded, undermined the fundamental moral values of Singapore's fair and law-abiding society.

Singaporean primary students during an extracurricular activity, Photo: ByKido.

To protect her daughter, the court did not disclose the mother's identity or the name of the school.

Case records indicate the incident took place in 2023, coinciding with her daughter's entry into Primary 1. Primary school admission rules in Singapore generally prioritize students residing near the school.

The defendant desired her child to attend a reputable primary school, despite her actual residence being distant from it. She then falsely registered her address as a rented apartment she owned, located near the school. In fact, the mother and daughter did not reside at that address.

To evade detection, she instructed her tenant to keep all windows closed from 7h to 23h and to falsely claim that the mother and daughter resided in the apartment.

Several months later, the school became suspicious and tried to verify the student's actual residence, but its efforts were unsuccessful.

The school announced its decision to transfer her daughter out of the school in 10/2024, subsequently reporting the case to the police.

The trial court observed a rise in school admission fraud, noting this as the fourth recorded instance of a parent facing legal action for such an offense.

Data from the Ministry of Education indicates a significant increase in such cases: from an average of one case annually between 2008 and 2018, to 9 cases each year in the 2020-2024 period.

In 2007, an individual received an 11-month jail sentence for forging a property certificate and falsely declaring a home address to enroll his daughter in a renowned school in Bukit Timah. His status as a lawyer, someone well-versed in the law, drew additional criticism for his actions.

"The choice of primary school in Singapore marks the first and often most crucial milestone in a child's formal educational journey," the court emphasized. The judge added that individuals attempting to undermine this system must face appropriate consequences.

Both offenses – willfully providing false information and fraudulently changing residence information – carry penalties of up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.

By Hai Thu (Source: Straits Times)