One child offended, but the next doesn’t have to

Theresa Tan, Chng Choon Hiong

Published: Oct 24, 2026, 12:00 PM

A couple with seven children, aged between one and 16, are among the families receiving help under the Pivot Families programme. The family of nine, together with a relative, lives in a two-room rental flat.

The father, who is in his 40s, was previously jailed for criminal breach of trust, while the mother is a homemaker. The father delivers food and small parcels using his bicycle, but hopes to get a driving licence so he can switch to a van, take on bigger deliveries and earn more. A van would also make it easier for him to take his children to school and on family outings.

The oldest son, now 16, and his younger brother, 13, were caught after they broke into a facility where impounded vehicles are kept. Together with two of the older boy’s friends, they climbed over a fence to steal four bicycles.

The older brother was placed on probation, while the younger one was let off with a warning.

The brothers were once close. They used to ride bicycles, fish, swim and play mobile games together. But after his arrest, the older brother distanced himself from his younger brother as he did not want him to follow in his footsteps.

The younger brother knew that it is wrong to steal, but felt he could not say no to his brother. Under the Pivot programme, Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) probation officer Abigail Tee is helping him learn to set boundaries and make better choices. She is also helping the brothers repair their strained relationship.

Tee is guiding the parents to better supervise and communicate with their children. She is also exploring how they can help the dad land a more stable job or earn more income.

Tee is also working with different organisations helping the family, including the boys’ school and a family service centre, to coordinate support for the household.

The pilot phase of Pivot Families – short for Positive Interventions that Value Opportunities and build Thriving Families – started in April. It is expected to benefit about 25 families and about 50 siblings a year.

This follows a 2025 large-scale study in Singapore, which found that parents’ criminal history is significantly associated with a higher risk of youth offending.

After controlling for other factors, these children were 2.2 times as likely to offend as those whose parents never got into trouble with the law.

The study, done by MSF and the National Council of Social Service, was based on an analysis of anonymised administrative data of about 1.5 million parents and children.

Siblings face similar challenges to those that led their brother or sister into trouble, such as financial woes, parental incarceration, divorce, family violence and other stresses.

“They may also have fewer trusted adults, positive role models and support networks to draw from when they encounter challenges of their own,” said an MSF spokesperson.

“These challenges can affect a young person’s sense of stability, their engagement in school and their relationships with others.

“Experiencing such challenges does not mean the sibling will offend, but it indicates that they could benefit from additional support and positive influences in their lives.”

MSF officers like Tee identify siblings of youth offenders – aged 13 to 21 – who could benefit from more support to help them stay clear of trouble.

They are brought into the programme when a brother or sister is placed on probation or sent to a juvenile rehabilitation centre.

The young people in the Pivot Families programme usually have parents with a criminal past as well, Tee said.

MSF first mentioned the Pivot Families programme when it released the Supporting Youth Rehabilitation Trends Report on Sept 29, which showed that about 19% more young people were arrested in 2025.

A total of 3,117 young people aged between 10 and 21 were arrested in 2025, up from 2,627 in 2024. The rise was largely driven by an increase in cheating offences, such as young people acting as scam mules.

On Pivot Families, the MSF spokesperson said: “To our knowledge, this is the first programme internationally to systematically use engagement with youth offenders as an entry point to identify and support siblings and families at risk of intergenerational offending.”

Many parents Tee works with are overwhelmed by several problems at once, she said, including financial woes, caregiving stress and incarceration. Their capacity to supervise their children is strained.

Abigail Tee, a probation officer at MSF who runs the Pivot Families programme to identify and work with siblings of youth offenders to prevent them from falling into crime.

Much of her work involves helping parents better supervise children, improve communication and strengthen bonds.

For the siblings, the focus is on addressing the issues they face and exposing them to positive influences and activities, among other things.

MSF officers also work with social workers, school counsellors and other professionals already supporting the families to ensure they receive coordinated help.

Another family Tee is helping is a mother in her 40s with three children. Her eldest son, 17, ran afoul of the law after hitting someone in a fight.

For the past three months, Tee has been working with his 16-year-old brother and his school counsellor to address why he shows up for classes only once or twice a week. She is also helping him set and pursue his goals after finishing his N-level exams.

“He skips school, lags behind academically and can’t catch up, and so he doesn’t want to go,” she said. “He also has to take his younger sister to school, and he would miss school.”

To help him get back on track, Tee and the school counsellor have arranged supplementary lessons and are exploring youth development programmes to help him discover his interests and develop positive habits and skills.

Tee said the mother is still reeling from the breakdown of her second marriage, from which she has an eight-year-old daughter, and needs support in various ways, such as to better manage her children.

Her two sons are from her first marriage, to a man who was previously jailed for drug offences.

Tee is working with the mother and her family coach to help her find a more stable job, instead of gig work, to ease her financial strain.

She said: “They are receptive, and the (boy) is very thankful for the additional adults in his life now.”

ILLUSTRATIONS: CHNG CHOON HIONG

特蕾莎·谭，张春雄

发布时间：2026年10月24日 下午12:00

一对夫妇育有七个孩子，年龄在一岁到十六岁之间，他们是“枢纽家庭计划”的受助家庭之一。这九口之家，加上一位亲戚，挤在一套两室出租房里。

这位四十多岁的父亲曾因刑事失信罪入狱，母亲则是一位家庭主妇。父亲目前骑自行车送外卖和小包裹，但他希望考取驾照，这样就能换用货车，承接更大的订单，赚取更多收入。有了货车，他也能更方便地接送孩子上下学和带家人外出。

现年16岁的大儿子和13岁的弟弟闯入一个存放扣押车辆的设施后被抓获。他们伙同大儿子的两个朋友翻过围栏，偷走了四辆自行车。

哥哥被判缓刑，弟弟则被警告释放。

兄弟俩曾经关系非常亲密。他们经常一起骑自行车、钓鱼、游泳、玩手机游戏。但哥哥被捕后，便疏远了弟弟，因为他不想让弟弟重蹈覆辙。

弟弟明知偷窃是不对的，却觉得无法拒绝哥哥。在“枢纽计划”（Pivot programme）下，新加坡社会及家庭发展部（MSF）缓刑监督官阿比盖尔·蒂（Abigail Tee）正在帮助他学习如何设定界限并做出更好的选择。她也在帮助兄弟俩修复紧张的关系。

Tee正在指导这对父母如何更好地监督和与孩子沟通。她还在探讨如何帮助孩子的父亲找到一份更稳定的工作或增加收入。

Tee 还与帮助这个家庭的不同组织合作，包括男孩们的学校和家庭服务中心，协调对这个家庭的支持。

“Pivot Families”（全称为“重视机会、构建繁荣家庭的积极干预”）试点项目于四月启动，预计每年将惠及约25个家庭和约50名兄弟姐妹。

此前，新加坡在 2025 年进行了一项大规模研究，发现父母的犯罪记录与青少年犯罪风险显著相关。

在控制其他因素后，这些孩子犯罪的可能性是父母从未触犯法律的孩子的 2.2 倍。

这项研究由无国界医生组织和国家社会服务理事会进行，基于对约 150 万名家长和儿童的匿名行政数据的分析。

兄弟姐妹面临着与导致他们的兄弟姐妹陷入困境的类似挑战，例如经济困难、父母入狱、离婚、家庭暴力和其他压力。

无国界医生组织的一位发言人表示：“当他们遇到自己的挑战时，他们可能也缺乏值得信赖的成年人、积极的榜样和支持网络。”

“这些挑战会影响年轻人的稳定感、他们在学校的参与度以及他们与他人的关系。

“经历这样的挑战并不意味着兄弟姐妹一定会犯错，而是表明他们可以从生活中获得更多支持和积极的影响中受益。”

像 Tee 这样的社会及家庭发展部官员会找出 13 至 21 岁青少年罪犯的兄弟姐妹，这些青少年罪犯可以从更多的支持中受益，以帮助他们远离麻烦。

当兄弟姐妹被判缓刑或送往少年管教中心时，他们就会被纳入该计划。

Tee表示，“转折家庭计划”中的年轻人通常也有犯罪前科。

无国界医生组织在 9 月 29 日发布《支持青少年康复趋势报告》时首次提到了“枢纽家庭”计划，该报告显示，到 2025 年，被捕的年轻人数量将增加约 19%。

2025 年共有 3117 名 10 至 21 岁的青少年被捕，高于 2024 年的 2627 人。这一增长主要是由于欺诈犯罪的增加，例如青少年充当诈骗工具。

无国界医生组织发言人就“转折家庭”项目表示：“据我们所知，这是国际上第一个系统地利用与青少年罪犯接触作为切入点，来识别和支持有代际犯罪风险的兄弟姐妹和家庭的项目。”

Tee表示，她接触的许多家长都同时面临多重问题，包括经济困难、照顾孩子的压力以及子女入狱。他们监管孩子的能力捉襟见肘。

Abigail Tee 是无国界医生组织的缓刑监督官，负责“枢纽家庭”计划，旨在识别和帮助青少年罪犯的兄弟姐妹，防止他们走上犯罪道路。

她的大部分工作都涉及帮助父母更好地监管孩子、改善沟通和加强亲子关系。

对于这些兄弟姐妹来说，重点是解决他们面临的问题，并让他们接触积极的影响和活动等等。

无国界医生组织的官员还会与社会工作者、学校辅导员和其他已经在为这些家庭提供支持的专业人士合作，以确保他们获得协调一致的帮助。

Tee帮助的另一个家庭是一位四十多岁的母亲，她有三个孩子。她17岁的大儿子在打架中打人后触犯了法律。

过去三个月，Tee一直在与他16岁的弟弟和学校辅导员一起探讨他每周只来上课一两次的原因。她还在帮助他制定并实现N水准考试后的目标。

“他经常逃学，学习成绩落后，跟不上，所以他不想去上学，”她说。“他还得送妹妹上学，那样他就会耽误自己的课程。”

为了帮助他重回正轨，Tee 和学校辅导员安排了补充课程，并正在探索青少年发展计划，以帮助他发现自己的兴趣，培养积极的习惯和技能。

Tee表示，这位母亲仍在努力走出第二次婚姻破裂的阴影，她与前夫育有一个八岁的女儿，她需要在各个方面获得支持，例如更好地照顾孩子。

她的两个儿子是她与前夫所生，她的前夫曾因毒品犯罪入狱。

Tee正在与这位母亲和她的家庭教练合作，帮助她找到一份更稳定的工作，而不是零工，以减轻她的经济压力。

她说：“他们都很乐于接受，（男孩）也非常感谢生活中多了几位成年人的帮助。”

插图：郑春雄