Woman charged with giving false address to enrol child in primary school
A 41-year-old woman was charged in court on Wednesday (5 June) for allegedly providing false information about her home address to enrol her child in a prestigious primary school.
The alleged offence took place during the 2023 Primary 1 (P1) registration exercise.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, for illustration purposes only
To safeguard the identity of the child, the court has imposed a gag order prohibiting the publication of any details that could reveal who she is.
This includes both the woman’s name and the name of the school involved.
Submitted two false address change declarations
Court documents show that between June and September 2024, the woman misled the school’s principal and vice-principal by falsely claiming to live in a flat located near the school.
She also allegedly submitted two false address change declarations stating that she had moved into the same flat.
These declarations were part of her efforts to meet the distance-based priority criteria under the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Primary 1 registration framework.
The framework gives admission priority to children living within 1km of the school, followed by those residing between 1km and 2km, and then those beyond 2km.
Misuse of addresses for school admission carries stiff penalties
The woman faces one charge of furnishing false information to a public servant, along with two additional charges under the National Registration Act.
In court, she said she intends to plead guilty and does not plan to engage a defence lawyer.
She was granted bail of S$5,000, with her plea scheduled for 18 July.
Under the law, anyone convicted of knowingly providing false information to a public servant with the intent to conceal the true state of facts may be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
The National Registration Act also makes it an offence to provide false particulars or misuse residential addresses, including for the purpose of school registration.
Parents who misuse addresses risk school transfer for their child
MOE has stated that it takes a serious view of parents who intentionally use an address solely for the purpose of P1 registration.
Source: Google Maps
If MOE determines that there was an intent to abuse the system, the child may be transferred to another school.
Such transfers will be carried out at MOE’s sole discretion, and parents will have no say in the choice of the new school.
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao, for illustration purposes only.
