Teen sent to girls' home for theft underwent 'inconsistent parenting', father made excuses for her

SINGAPORE: A 14-year-old girl who was sent to a girls' home for crimes including theft and cheating was subject to "inconsistent and inappropriate parenting" and was assaulted by her father.

While her mother was receptive to child protective service professionals' advice and tried to impose routine and discipline, her father vacillated between harsh and permissive parenting styles.

The girl, who was named only as Ella in a judgment published on Thursday (Apr 6), was sent to the Singapore Girls' Home for 21 months by a Youth Court.

Ella pleaded guilty to four charges. These are for stealing cosmetics from Watsons and cheating others of money by listing items on Carousell that she never delivered. She was also involved in a group attack of a person who was hit with a knuckleduster. Another five charges were taken into consideration.

After some of the crimes were committed, Ella's parents contacted the Singapore Children's Society on Feb 24, 2022 hoping to access the pre-Family Guidance Order regime because of Ella's challenging behaviour.

The society conducted a screening and found several risky behaviour that Ella engaged in. These included: Association with negative peers, underage smoking, vaping, alcohol consumption, sexualised behaviour, coming home late at night and staying away from home.

The screening also noted that the parents had inconsistent parenting styles.

Ella and her family were referred to a separate social service agency for therapy and case management, but Ella defaulted on three sessions without valid reasons.

When counsellors tried to work with Ella on her academic plans and association with negative peers, Ella expressed little concern and prioritised having fun, noted District Judge Amy Tung.

She continued