Question Time With PM Lee Hsien Loong - EastCoastLife's Question

Stop the sale of 


limited publicly funded places

in Singapore Mainstream public 

schools!

MOE's reply on making monetary donations to schools :

MOE would like to state unequivocally that the buying of school places is not allowed. All school principals are aware that under no circumstances are they to solicit or accept donations in exchange for school places.

Lim Huay Chih (Ms)
Director, School Planning and Placement
June 3, 2009

As at the first week of February 2011, some school principals are still selling school places to foreign students.

Update : On 15th April 2011, information was provided personally to MOE's Superintendent (E4 cluster) Mrs Tan Wai Lan for the necessary action.

***************** ooo OOO ooo ***************

MOE's reply to my email of 1 Apr 2011 to Ms. Lim Huay Chih, Quality Service Manager, on international students admission to our mainstream public schools :

The Ministry takes a serious view of this matter. We urge you to provide us with precise, factual details so that the Ministry can make the necessary checks to ascertain whether such instances have occurred.

Mdm Lim Pek See

Assistant Manager, Pupil Placement, School Planning and Placement Division
 5 April 2011

On 6th April 2011, Mdm Lim Pek See (Assistant Manager, Pupil Placement, School Planning and Placement Division) and Mdm Lydia Ng Hwee Hong (Senior Head, Pupil Placement 5, Pupil Placement, School Planning and Placement Division) were provided with precise, factual details of a Chinese boy paying S$10,000 in exchange for a school place in a popular primary school in the east.

************************* ooo OOO ooo ************************

On 9th April 2010, an agent who has been selling school places for the past 25 years to foreign students with the help of current and past school principals and school staff have been reported to CPIB and the relevant authorities. More cases will be reported.   

EastCoastLife's Question :

When is the government taking action to stop the sale of limited publicly funded school places?

It is shocking to discover that such illegal transactions have been taking place in Singapore for the past 25 years to cheat foreign students and their parents of their money.

If the public has information on mainstream public schools selling school places, please report to CPIB.

You could do the following :

a. Go personally to CPIB at 2, Lengkok Bahru, S(159047), to lodge a complaint to the Duty Officer; or 

b. Write a letter to CPIB. You may remain anonymous if you wish; or 

c. Make a phone call to the CPIB Duty Officer at 1800 - 376 0000 at any time of the day to make the complaint; or 

d. E-mail to CPIB through the CPIB internet website.

Duty Officer	:	1800 - 376 0000 (please use this number to lodge a complaint or feel free to make use of their online Corruption Complaint Form)
Quality Service Manager	:	1800 - 270 0855 (please use this number for feedback on service-related matters)
General Enquires	:	6270 0141
Fax no	:	6270 0320
Email	:	cpib_website_email@cpib.gov.sg
Postal Address	:	2 Lengkok Bahru Singapore 159047

How to go to CPIB.

Or feel free to make use of their online Feedback Form .  
Do not waste your time complaining to MOE.

Bullying at school is nothing new

Bullying at school is an age-old problem and many took the "children will be children" attitude towards the problem. Bullying is about one thing: the strong taking unfair advantage of the weak. The problem exists in all schools. And now it seems teachers and principals are turning into bullies too.

MP Lily Neo and chairperson for Government Parliamentary Committee for Education said, " School bullies are increasing and becoming bolder, brainier "

My son Jaymes was a victim of school bullying, from primary to secondary school. He was small in size and meek. When the bullying started in Primary 2, he didn't dare to tell me. My parents-in-law noticed that his shirt was usually scribbled on and dirtied with coloured crayons. At first we thought he did it or he must have done something to deserve it. But words like 'idiot' and 'stupid' were written on the back of his shirt. I then dismissed it as children's pranks. We advised Jaymes to avoid conflicts with his classmates and to keep a low profile. Obviously he listened because nothing serious happened in his remaining primary school years.

Then when he was in secondary school, the bullying came from his classmates, a few teachers and his principal. One incident happened when he was in secondary one where his form teacher together with the school authorities, sided with another student over our loss of S$4. The form teacher told my husband and I in our faces, our son was 'not Express class material', 'a busybody' and 'a liar'. I was livid and complained to the school which until now, choose to do nothing.

When Jaymes was in secondary 2, I was informed by one of his classmates that he fought in the school toilet. I was very angry and confronted my son.

Turned out there was an Indian boy in his class who was always harassing and hitting him and other smaller built boys, for no reason. He told his form teacher and the Disciplinary Mistress but they did nothing. He didn't dare to tell me because like most schoolchildren he was afraid of reprisals and wary of my hot-temper, that I would turn the school upside-down. haha.....

Jaymes endured for a year and then took up Ninjado, a Japanese martial art. When he was ready, he challenged the Indian boy to a fight. He lost but from then on, the bully didn't dare provoke him any more.

I admit it was probably the wrong thing to do — but I’m not sorry my son had to take matters into his own hands. (Like mother, like son... hehe.....). In fact I think he was very brave to face the bully. I'm glad that he could take care of himself. I pity those who dare not stand up to their bullies and despise those who turn a blind eye to what's happening.

Yes, parents and victims of bullying shouldn't be left to feel the pain and anguish.

School bullying is everyone’s business. It is unrealistic to expect it can be totally eliminated. We can’t eradicate the conditions that turn some children into bullies and others into targets.

But if everyone concerned—teachers, school authorities, police, parents and children—is truly committed to zero tolerance, then there is solid evidence that the amount and the severity of bullying can be reduced dramatically.

What MOE Singapore said on bullying - here and here but schools never follow

Tell your father to come!!

Xiaoran's parents meanwhile in China were getting more worried. Her mother fell ill worrying about her only daughter's ordeal and her constant crying over the phone. Her father tried to find other friends in Singapore to help. He found an ex-teacher of Chai Chee Secondary School to see the principal. He managed to get a photocopy of my ward's Mid-year results.


Xiaoran had just finished her Final Year Exams. Ms Loh had told her that her report book would be given to her only if her father come personally to the school to collect it. Ms Loh would not let go, she must have her way. She abused the child verbally, she threatened, she humiliated her, she didn't care if the poor child was already stressed, worried, terrified and now on the brink of a nervous breakdown.


Seeing Xiaoran in this state, I regretted not taking action earlier. I was waiting for the teacher to change her mind, obviously she's not and NEVER! The father doesn't want to make matters worse. His daughter arrived in Singapore a cheerful, confident child, hoping to gain from our World-class education, but now she is reduced to a depressed, stressed and terrified girl who is afraid to go to school and whose morale is at an all time low.


I would like MOE to send a Senior Officer to meet my ward, myself, the Principal and Ms Loh. I want to resolve this matter and would like MOE to clarify its stand on this.

Sir, there are many issues regarding MOE that I would like to bring up but I would like you to help me with my ward's problem first. This is most urgent as my ward's most dreadful day is coming soon - she is getting her report book on 3rd November.

***************************ooOoo*****************************

This letter was sent to then Education Minister, Rear-Adm Teo Chee Hean on 28th October 2000. Guess what happened.

......... /Page 4

Go and don't come back!!

First semester ended on 26th May. Xiaoran had been in Singapore for more than a year, thousands of kilometres away from home and her beloved. It was not only her first trip abroad but also her first time away from her parents. As her grandfather was not well, he had just had a heart bypass, she was eager to go home.

I booked her air-ticket for 22nd May and she left that day. I had written a letter earlier, for her to give to Ms Loh but discovered later that she didn't because she was too terrified. Why? Because a few days before she left for home, Ms Loh had asked the class which foreign student was going home earlier. Xiaoran raised her hand and she was told,"Go and don't come back." Do I hear a threat?

Xiaoran told me Ms Loh didn't allow her to go back earlier, I assured her that it was nothing to worry about. I then wrote the letter asking the teacher for permission to leave earlier. But Ms Loh had instilled such great fear in Xiaoran that she had decided when she leave, never to return to Singapore.

On 26th May morning, my hubby went to school to get Xiaoran's report book. Ms Loh refused to hand it over, citing the reason Xiaoran had left school without permission. She refused to acknowledge that my hubby was the legal guardian of the child. She insisted she wanted to see the child's parents. My husband tried to talk to the Principal but couldn't locate him.

Xiaoran returned to Singapore at the insistence of her father. He had spent a large sum of money in sending her to study in Singapore. Xiaoran went to school on 26th June but cried everyday for 2 whole weeks. She called her parents several times a day, begging to return to China. Ms Loh had picked on her daily since her return from China. She kept asking to see her parents.

At that time, for Chinese nationals to travel out of China, they needed to go to Beijing to process their visa and placed a sum of money as collateral. It was a hassle. Besides there were us, the legal guardians.

Xiaoran's parents were here in February for the Chinese New Year holidays. They brought gifts for the teachers and met most of them. Ms Loh gave them a cold reception. The father later remarked that the form teacher was so stuck-up and seemed to look down on Chinese nationals.

Ms Loh refused to talk to us, insisting the parents fly over to see her. She constantly harassed my ward on this, bringing this matter up every now and then. Attempts to see the Principal came to nought because he was always not around. He is famous for his disappearing acts. My husband wrote him a letter, but no reply came from him. When my husband finally saw him, he tried to make excuses and cover up for the teacher and himself. He considered us nuisance and tried to avoid us.

......../Page 3

Should students be terrorised in school?

Another day, Xiaoran forgot her Maths textbook, Ms Loh made her bring all her textbooks to school the next day. Imagine my skinny ward bent under the weight of her heavy, bulging school bag. The silly terrified girl really brought ALL her books!

Two months later, after lunch one day, Xiaoran asked for permission to shop for Bata white shoes. She had just started school and her 2 pairs of white shoes were bought just 2 months ago. She said Ms Loh wanted the whole class to wear only white canvas shoes which must not have any other colour or accessories on them. Xiaoran's shoes had some white trimmings on them.

The shoes failed the teacher's expectation. So my frightened ward went shoe hunting. She spent one whole afternoon searching from Parkway Parade to Suntec City to Orchard Road. She came back that evening happily with 2 pairs of all white, plain canvas shoes.

I had another Indonesian ward in the same school, in Secondary 2. Her teacher didn't make the students wear all white canvas shoes. This ward's shoes had blue trimmings. So this is not the school's policy. Someone made her own rule.

Before my ward was admitted to the school, she was asked to give a donation. The Principal, Mohd Said Bin Jaafar, assured us,"This is a one-time payment." Several months later, Xiaoran came home with a letter appealing for contribution to the school by advertising in the school magazine.

Ms Loh told the foreign students, everyone had to buy a one-page advertisement space. I spoke to Xiaoran's father. He didn't want to advertise as he had already donated a sum of money to the school. I returned the letter, turning down her request.

The letter came back again with the message,"All foreign students must place an advertisement."

I returned the letter again with a note referring to the Principal's assurance. My ward was the only foreign student in her class who didn't advertise in the school magazine. Ms Loh took it badly. I wonder,"Was someone trying to excel in this fund-raising exercise?"

The worst nightmare commenced after the June holidays.............

......./Page 2

The letter that Rear-Adm Teo Chee Hean never read

A letter I sent to MOE addressed to then Education Minister Rear-Adm Teo Chee Hean. It was a cry for help but it was hijacked. It was carbon copied to the Principal of the school. Follow the wayang. Warning -12 pages.

*******************ooOoo***********************

Dear Sir,

RE : Teacher Harasses Student

I am the guardian of a 15-year old Chinese girl who came to Singapore on April 1999. She took a test and was accepted by Chai Chee Secondary School. She went to Secondary 1/1 on 7th January 2000.

On 10th January 2000, she was made to copy Chapter One of her Maths textbook. Reason? She didn't wear her name tag. With the help of my maid, she copied 21 pages of it after finishing her other homework, from 9pm until past 12 midnight. Despite my telling her she didn't have to do it.

Why was she punished? Her form teacher Ms Loh Yoke Hwee had told the class to order their name tags and to wear them at all times or they would be punished. Every student in that school has to wear a name tag. Her classmates started school on 3rd January. My ward went in later, and she was only told on that day.

The school bookshop had sold out the name tags by then. Being a foreigner, she needed the help of her classmates to bring her to the shop that makes name tags. They went the next day which was a Friday. The name tag would only be ready on Monday, 10th January. She could collect it after school.

That Monday morning, she was punished. Ms Loh didn't bother want to know why she still didn't wear a name tag. She just punished her.

Later I asked my ward, Xiaoran, what did the teacher do to the pages she had copied. She said the teacher just put them aside without a glance. I presumed they ended up in the dustbin. That's the first unpleasant experience my ward had in a Singaporean school.


....../ Page 1

Wah! Very bold hor, lie to DPM Lee Hsien Loong!!!

A few days later, I received an email from DPM Lee's Principal Private Secretary, Mr Ong Ye Kung who said DPM had received my email and wanted more details. So I sent the details of my complaint. I had expected my case to be looked into seriously.

My letter was forwarded to MOE. Back to square one. hahaha........ So now you know how they conduct investigations. You can go to the very top, but they will still chuck it back to the Ministry involved. That's how dirty laundry will never be washed in public.

It involved high ranking officers in MOE, and I think such cases are so rampant in all the schools that these cases don't even deserve an investigation. I believe to prevent 'dirty laundry being aired in the public' and causing embarrassment, MOE chose to 'sweep the dirt under its carpet.' I would therefore say the matter was covered up. Happily they closed their file.

That's why MP Chan Soo Sen can tell me that I have the right to do anything I want. Go to the press? Go ahead. Go to the police? Go ahead. Go to see Minister? Go ahead. See Lee Hsien Loong? hahaha.... go ahead! See, they make us go on a Merry-go-round until we go dizzy and give up! :)


Should high-ranking civil servants be afraid? No, it seems they are protected. So all the more they become bolder.

******************00O00*******************

Email to DPM Lee‎
From: ONG_Ye_Kung@mof.gov.sg
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 11:37:07 PM
To:

Dear Ms ,

I refer to your email of 26 Jan 04 to DPM Lee, which I have shown MOE and sought their clarifications. MOE told me that they had investigated the cases that you have cited. They wanted to assure you that there are no cover-ups. Where a mistake had been made and foreign students have been wrongly admitted, the schools have rectified the situation. MOE has also reminded the schools of the need to carefully check through the documents and information provided by foreign students applicants.

Thank you for letting us know your observations.


Regards

Ong Ye Kung
Principal Private Secretary to DPM Lee

***********************00O00**********************

I don't think then DPM Lee Hsien Loong read my email. My emails and letters tend to stop at certain level. And I believe whatever complaints to Ministries would always be stopped at certain levels if you go through the proper channel. So, since PM Lee Hsien Loong has closed my case, should I go see his father personally? I think I will ..................... :)

Am I gonna stop here? NO!!!

Finally MOE admitted : False Declaration by foreigners

Due to my persistence, Yu Mei Balasingam-Chow bo bian had no choice but to make 'an investigation' again and came up with this lame reply.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has thoroughly investigated the incidents referred to in your earlier correspondence with us. In the case of Telok Kurau Primary School, MOE found that the school had mistakenly admitted Cindy Uy Tan due to a false declaration by Cindy's parents. The school issued a letter to Cindy's parents warning them of the consequences of providing incorrect information. The school allowed Cindy to remain in Primary 3 and she would be promoted only if she passed the year-end examinations.

MOE was informed about Cindy Uy Tan's case in April 2003, but it took soooo long for them to do such a simple investigation. When I received the letter, it was end of the year already lor. Cindy Uy Tan managed to pass her Primary 3 exams and is promoted to Primary 4 liao. I have a feeling MOE or the school principal purposely dragged this case.

Within the same family, this is the second case of false declaration. MOE should have taken a serious view of this case. Yet it still allowed a warning letter to be given, by the school.

Oh, Telok Kurau Primary School principal Ms Chew Lai Mun assured Christine, 'she would do everything to help them'. I'm sure she did. Good principal.

Looks like different people in MOE have their own different definition of its laws rules, Komathi's words carry no weight. :)

Just to reiterate the Foreign Students must complete the previous level before they can be considered for admission to the next level.

Why wasn't Attorney General's Chamber consulted on this case? MOE has the authority to decide whether to proceed to charge or not charge a person who is found to make a false declarartion meh? Why make empty threat printing 'False declaration is an offence and offenders will be prosecuted' on their application forms, when MOE doesn't have the intention to do that? Maybe selectively.

I thought it is an offence to give false information to civil servants. In this case, not only to one but a few. Happy ending for the Tan family though, because they have now blissfully emigrated to British Columbia, Canada. Now, the people who helped them have to face the music. hehe...... 该死的卖国贼!

DPM Lee Hsien Loong's episode will be next post ............

MOE said : It's an oversight.

Kimberly was finally asked to leave Bedok North Secondary School. Her parents started launching personal attacks on me. They asked their kids to send emails to all my wards, "Tell your parents to call my parents because they have something to tell about Mrs Tan." They also invited my wards to their house to swim, and that was during the SARS period when Singapore schools were closed. They did so many things and the harrassment got so bad that I finally had to fight back.

Kimberly was accepted by Telok Kurau Primary School to Primary 5. Her younger sister, Cindy was there. Cindy didn't complete Primary 2 but was accepted into Primary 3 class. Andy and Christine didn't inform MOE or the school Cindy also didn't pass the required level. They lied to two schools.

Komathi wrote in another reply to my query on 17th February 2003:

When we conducted the initial investigations, the school had confirmed the child did complete Primary 6. However the school after verifying the pupil's actual document confirmed that the child indeed completed Grade 5 and half of Grade 6, as correctly pointed out by you.

Just to reiterate the Foreign Students must complete the previous level before they can be considered for admission to the next level.

The school didn't verify foreign students' documents. We informed BNSS immediately of Kimberly's Grade 5 qualification but the school didn't heed our warning. It went ahead because the decision-makers thought they were the authority.

I informed MOE about Cindy Uy Tan on 4th April. Mrs Lilian Cheong, then Head, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs Division replied on 17th April 2003 :

MOE is looking into the admission of Cindy U Tan to Telok Kurau Primary School and will take appropriate action where necessary.

Mrs Lilian Cheong took up a new posting and the matter was promptly forgotten. I emailed again, to a Yu Mei Balasingam-Chow who took over as Head of Corporate Communications, Public Affairs Division. She replied on 30th July 2003.

With regard to your complaint against the Principal and Vice-Principal of Bedok North Secondary School, we would like to say that MOE takes a serious view of any allegations regarding improper school management. We have thoroughly investigated the incidents referred to in your email of 4th April 2003.

Acting on the information you provided in February 2003, MOE found that Bedok North Secondary School had mistakenly admitted Kimberly Uy Tan. The school had offered Kimberly a place based on her having met the age criterion and her performance in the school assessment tests, but overlooked the criterion of a minimum Grade 6 for admission to secondary one. When alerted to the oversight, the school promptly informed Kimberly's parents and requested Kimberly to leave the school. Kimberly was subsequently admitted to Primary 5 at Telok Kurau Primary School.

We wish to add that schools are aware that they need to ensure that the foreign students admitted are placed at an appropriate level and are able to benefit from the education they can offer. MOE has reminded schools of the need for care in checking the relevant information and documents when receiving applicants for admission.

We would like to reiterate that our officers have acted on your feedback with professionalism and care, and have not acted against you in any way.
Yet 'oversight' cases still happened and are happening.

In December 2003, Cedar Primary School offered a foreign student Primary 5 level when he didn't even complete grade 3. Reason for the offer : No more vacancies for Primary 4.

Pei Tong Primary School offered Primary 4 level to the same foreign student. It's a no-brainer which school the parents would take.

An oversight. No. Definitely not. How can there be so many oversights in our schools? How do the Principals, VPs, staff, AMs and OMs work? Carelessly?

The constant harassment from Kimberly's parents caused me to see a psychiatrist at Changi General Hospital. Then I received the death threat in my mail box. I fell into depression and was advised to be warded for observation. I was going through Hell. One day, I decided rather than get defeated, I should snap out of it and take things into my hands.

I went to see a Minister.

I shouldn't blow the whistle?

When I returned home and checked my caller-display device, I saw Mrs Kong's office number in it. That call to my house was on the afternoon of 8th February.

On the morning of 12th February, Andy called from Manila, asking me to help them out. I went to see Christine. She told me about her meeting with Mrs Yap and Mrs Kong. Yvonne Tan was also present. Christine claimed she saw the email that I wrote with Kimberly's details in it. She was sitting opposite the principal whose computer, placed at an angle on her desk, displayed my email.

Mrs Yap asked,"Who is this XXXXX? Why does she have your daughter's particulars? Who is she to question the authority of the school? This is the school's decision. What has MOE got to do with it?" The trio told Christine the problem arose because I complained. Then in front of Christine, Mrs Yap dictated to Mrs Kong while she typed out her reply to MOE.

Kimberly was suspended from school the following day.

Andy was very mad with me. He said I should have kept my mouth shut. Oh, really!?! He wanted me to go with them to see Komathi at MOE building. I turned them down.

My identity was revealed to the school when Komathi forwarded the email to them. How else would Mrs Kong know who to call? Komathi didn't make a thorough investigation. She just called the school to find out. Christine commented that when she was in Mrs Kong's office, 'the way Mrs Kong talked to Komathi on the phone was like old friends'.

Later, Mrs Kong told my hubby, "Actually the school has the right to accept students without the approval of MOE. MOE has no clear guidelines and regulations on this. It was an eye-opener. If there was no complaint, Kimberly would have completed her secondary education without a hitch. Thank God I didn't ask for donation in Kimberly's case!" Excuse me?

I would expect MOE HQ and all our civil service to exercise discretion for the complainant's safety. Almost all my letters of complaint were forwarded to the respective schools. So for those of you who want to give negative feedback, be prepared for your identity to be revealed, whereby it would result in more problems for you. By doing so, I think MOE might hope to scare people into thinking twice before complaining. Well, it didn't scare me. Even though I got death threats..............


/to be continued

Excuse me, what investigation is this????

I sent an email to the feedback unit of MOE, asking them to clarify "Can a foreign student who has only grade 5 standard be admitted to Secondary 1 Express?"

Mrs Komathi Suppiah, Head Admission/Operations, School Placement & Scholarship Branch of MOE replied the next day, "Hi, in order for us to investigate the matter, cld you let us know the name of the foreign student?" I gave her Kimberly's particulars.

On 8th February 2003, my husband and I were in Bangkok on a business trip. On 10th Februay around 4pm, my hubby received a call from Andy. He sounded flustered and told hubby, the principal, Mrs Yap-Chou Weng Ha and vice-principal Mrs Kong of Bedok North Secondary School sent for Kimberly 4 times, to ask her if she had completed Grade 6. The parents were told to go to the school the next day. The parents were expecting bad news. Andy told my hubby that I had to call the school to explain as I was the 'source of the complaint'. I didn't.

I was supposed to return on 12th February but I came back a day earleir. When I checked my emails that day, I found a reply by Komathi on 10th February that read :

"We have investigated and note that the Highest Educational Level completed by Kimberly is grade 6 and not grade 5. She can be admitted to Secondary 1 as she is within permissible age and has passed the school placement test for secondary one admission."

Another email on 11th February read,

"Just to let you know that the school has reconfirmed that the child has completed only grade 5. We will follow up with the school accordingly."

Ridiculous!!! What sort of investigation took place???? What a joke!

What is the penalty for giving false information or lying to a civil servant? A fine or Jail. What's the penalty if a civil servant lies? I'm curious to find out.

Calm before the Storm

It is sad for me to reveal the bad things happening in our civil service. I could have just taken my son away from here and live happily ever after. What happens to the rest of you is not my business. I see many of you slogging to feed your family, pay your bills and sparing no expenses to give your children a good education. You are the good, obedient citizens who don't know your rights and benefits are being given away ............

***********************00O00***********************

Andy initially wanted his wife Christine and his girls to come over to Singapore in June but changed it to October. Then to January 2003 when he heard me mentioned that primary schools would still conduct entrance tests during the school term. It was all well calculated, mainly to save money. But I warned him that he would be taking a risk as the schools conduct entrance tests based on availablility of vacancies.


In October 2002, when I met up with Andy, he told me he took the girls out of ICA, which is a well-known girls' school for the rich and influential in Manila. Christine was tutoring them using the assessment books which they had bought in Singapore. Cindy was preparing for Primary 2 and Kimberly was preparing for Primary 5.


Andy wanted me to schedule the entrance tests with several primary schools within a week in November. He would fly the girls in, take the tests and return to Manila to wait for results. Should they be accepted, I would help with the processing of their student passes. The girls would return to Singapore to commence school in January 2003.


A few days before his arrival, I called him to say I couldn't arrange entrance tests for his daughters as the schools didn't have vacancies. I suggested Cindy come to Singapore with Mom while Kimberly stay in Manila to complete her Grade 6 as her final semester exam is in March. By continuing her studies for another 2-3 months, she would be able to sit for Secondary 1 entrance test. My suggestion was turned down because 'Kimberly has told her classmates she is going to Singapore to study. It would be embarrassing if she returns to ICA to face her classmates and teachers again.'


Andy then suggested falsifying the report card by filling in the girls' final semester results. That on Kimberly's report card was left blank because she left ICA after the first semester. Andy told me he knew someone working in ICA, by giving her a small amount of money, he could have the school stamp on the report card. He added he could forge the principal's signature. I was horrified to hear that and reminded him that the Singapore Government takes fraud very seriously. Well, I thought it did then.

They wanted top schools. At that time, there was this CQT (Centralised Qualifying Test) which qualified candidates for the top 30 schools in Singapore. All their kids failed so they had to settle for heartland schools. We found schools for them but they turned them all down. Then they tried to find their own schools. I think at that time, they had it all planned out.

They went to Bedok North Secondary School to see Mrs Kong. Kimberly was accepted into Secondary 1 Express. I couldn't believe my ears! She had only Primary 5 standard. The first thought that crossed my mind was 'Has MOE set new rules?' Next, did Andy falsify his daughter's report card?

Immediately, my husband called Yvonne Tan, the Operations Manager of BNSS. He notified her of Kimberly's qualification before they processed the Letter of Acceptance. Yvonne said,"The school has the right to decide who to accept for students." Kimberly attended school on 4th February 2003.

Kimberly was elated and called all her friends in Manila that she got into a secondary school. I then received a call from Manila from a father who wanted me to get his son into Secondary 1 Express, just like Kimberly. His son was in Grade 5 too and he was eager to send his son over immediately. I turned him down because this could not be happening.

I sent an email to MOE.

Special Treatment reserved for foreigners?

Alejandro and Christine Uy Tan flew to Singapore to meet me in January 2002. They were recommended by a business friend. They visited my home and I brought them round to see some of our secondary schools and nearby neighbourhoods in Singapore. Andy told me he was sending his wife and 4 children to live in Singapore because of security reasons back in the Philippines. Andy is a pig farmer who also 'dabbles' in real estate.

I explained to them in detail the procedures and requirements of applying to the government schools here. They were given the information leaflet on the admission of foreign students to Government and Government-aided schools in Singapore. They were also told which level each of the 4 kids were going as they had each taken my own Assessment Tests. At the meeting, there was no mention of letting their kids live with me.

End of April, I met up with the Tan family when I went to Manila. I was told they were sending their eldest boy first because their grandmother disapproved of their sending the boys overseas. On 3rd May, the couple and their two elder sons came to Singapore. Only the eldest son, Jonas stayed on.

Andy claimed to lost US$10,000 at the Manila Airport. Thus he didn't make any payment for my services, the accommodation or the school fees. Out of sympathy, I paid for Jonas' school fees and miscellaneous expenses first while waiting 3 weeks (It only required 3 days for funds to be TT from Manila to Singapore!) for Andy to send money over. Unknown to me, he was trying out if Jonas could get accustomed to the life here. If it didn't, he could just pull out.

Andy and Christine never trusted me fully. They were very careful. After giving them the information they asked for, they would check with their friends, friends of friends ..... anyone who knows something about Singapore. I was very cautious whenever I answered their queries, knowing they would clarify or check with someone.

Then the younger son David came over in June to prepare for the entrance tests. Besides attending lessons at a language centre, the brothers had Mandarin, Maths, Science and English language tuition at home. They took the the IQ Test and entrance tests at 5 secondary schools and failed all of them.

Both boys were students of Xavier High School , a popular school for the rich and influential in Manila. MOE also recruits scholars from this school which charges up to US$3000 per annum school fees. You need to be somebody to be able to have your sons study here.

Well, the boys were accepted by Bedok North Secondary School by the Vice-principal Mrs Kong Chai Eng, although they failed their entrance tests. For a donation of S$5000 each. Another 2 China students Deng Li and Zhang Leixin paid S$10,000 each, both their English language scores were below 25%. Scores were altered to attain a 50% pass. Both were admitted to Express stream. David and Zhang Leixin were accepted for Secondary 1 Express classes even before the PSLE secondary school posting was out. They were asked to report to school on 6th January 2003 to avoid suspicion. :)

Will the Singapore educators do such things for our own local students?

As a Singaporean, would you give donations to get a place for your children in your preferred school?

...... to be continued

The beginning of my troubles.....

Of all the foreign parents that I have helped, the Filipino Chinese are the worst. Most of them are parents from Hell. Many of them are filthy rich and they are so used to their country's bribing culture that they think they can do the same thing here. Their children are no better. Monkeys see monkeys do.

Well, in a country where they are used to getting their ways by paying off the police, politicians and civil servants, they wanted to do the same here. And surprisingly, they got away with it! But being a patriotic Singaporean, I couldn't tolerate the smug looks on their faces when they told me the whole world was wrong about Singapore being the least corrupt country in the world!

And the bloody Singaporean civil servants who helped them and covered up for them deserve to die many times over. Who gave them the right to give away vacancies in return for 'donations'? Who said they could pick the wealthy foreigners over our local kids? What right have they to think the foreign kids are better than our kids and allow them to skip levels? Throwing large amounts of money to get overaged foreigners to compete unfairly with our own children.

Singapore scholarships for ASEAN scholars are being taken out of context. Top schools go overseas to do their own recruitment. Even setting up classes and sending retired teachers to give the selected students Intensive English language before they come over to Singapore. Some schools send their students to RELC for Intensive 6 months English lessons. Why can't they use this money to improve the standard of our local students and give them a competitive edge over their so-called competitors in the world? We could use this money and send our local scholars to top universities overseas.

On 4th February 2003, I sent an email to MOE, enquiring if a foreign student who has only Grade 5 (Primary 5) standard can be admitted to Secondary 1 Express in Singapore. The events that followed were out of my expectations. Until today, the handling of this case by staff of MOE has caused me much anguish and trouble. My reputation is ruined and thus sets me on the path to seek justice .............

Shut up! Or you'll never see your son again!!

It happened 4 years ago. Some foreign parents brought their country's bad culture to Singapore. I exposed them and they got mad at me. The problems also involved some schools and the Ministry of Education. I sent my stories to the local newspapers and TV producers of Current Affairs programme. They didn't dare to publish them. I went to see my MP, who happened to be the Minister of State (Education). And I even sent emails to then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. You can see the civil servant mentality at work here.

A few months later, I received this note in my mailbox. This is those people's way of telling me to stop pursuing the matter. They know my address and my family members. I was also threatened verbally by civil servants and so called government appointed representatives.

Ok, I dropped my cases then. But not because I was scared of them. What these bastards don't know was, my character is such that the more I get challenged, the more I want to fight them. Even at the cost of my son's life.

I brought the fight 'underground'. I started gathering evidence against every bloody school that admits foreign students, the agents and the high ranking staff (retired and current) in MOE. Want to shut me up? I will rock the country with the greatest scandal of the century!

For 3 years, I did my own investigation and paid private investigators to check out a whole list of people. We stalked them, we took photos. It was money well spent. It even led to the discovery of the mishandling of cases of quite a number of other civil service departments. I compiled the information and started writing my book. It will be published in another country.

It is meant for release at the next Election. Whoa! Dirty laundry. And I dug out the dirt from under the carpet! The best way for these people to die is when their big bosses get screwed at the Election. Heard of the phrase,"Heads will roll!" hahahaha ......

***********************00O00*************************

I didn't intend to expose these people so soon but since my blog is enjoying high traffic, why not? It's so comical, that our reporters and editors chose not to publish the hidden truth in our society but choose to highlight a silly story.

Readers, please stay with me for my true encounters. You could help to save my son.

This is my suicide mission. The lawyers I spoke to said no lawyer in Singapore will take my case. I will be sued and prosecuted by the authorities. I'm the egg against the rocks. Well, I'm prepared. If I go to jail, I'll make sure some people are going with me too. :)

Readers can see for themselves how a small fry like me can also accomplish what the CID does when I put my heart and soul to it. Come with me on my journey and see if the fear of my friends come true. That is to see how I am going to die ( 看我怎么死! ). hahahaha.....

Hello!! I'm sinking the boat we're in.