Couple fined S$9,000 for using fake address to get son into school in Bishan

SINGAPORE — A couple who faked their residential address to successfully bolster their son’s chances of getting into a popular primary school in Bishan during the 2015 Primary One registration exercise was fined S$9,000 in total on Monday (Jan 29).

The 36-year-old mother was given the maximum fine of S$5,000 for giving false information to a public servant, while her 39-year-old husband was fined S$4,000 for giving a false contact address to a registration officer at Serangoon Gardens Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP).

The couple and the school cannot be named due to a court gag order to protect the child’s identity.

On May 1, 2014, a year before their son was due to register for Primary One, the pair went to their nearby NPP to change their address on their identification cards (IC) to one of a Housing and Development Board flat in Bishan, even though they were living in a bungalow located in Serangoon Gardens.

The fake address allowed their son to get priority for admission under Phase 2C in Primary One Registration Exercise for students with no links to the school but live within one kilometre of it. The boy managed to secure a place in the popular school located in Bishan.

On Jan 14, 2016, after the child had started attending school, the school’s vice principal lodged a police report that the child’s father had “provided false information to the school with respect of his residential address”.

It was not mentioned in court how the couple’s crime was discovered, nor how they managed to convince the NPP officer to change their IC address. But court documents stated that police registration officer involved would not have helped them change their address “if the true state of facts” were known to him.

A clause on the Education Ministry’s website states that a child who is successfully registered in a school based on false information given will be transferred to another school with available vacancies after all eligible children have been registered.

The child is still schooling at the said school.

A MOE spokesperson told TODAY they “will decide on the best course of action for the child at a later stage” as the couple has 14 days to appeal against their sentence should they require.

But, “in the meantime, the school will continue to care for and ensure the well-being of the student”, she said.

In the last 10 years, less than 10 of such cases were reported, she added.

For declaring a false address to a registration officer, the couple could have been jailed up to five years, and/or fined up to S$5,000.

The maximum penalty for giving false information to a public servant is one year’s jail and/or a fine of up to S$5,000.