Warning: This article contains details of domestic violence that some readers may find upsetting.

SINGAPORE: When both of Peter’s (not his real name) parents were jailed for drug use, the boy was neglected and left to fend for himself. 

He was placed in foster care, where he experienced a different family life – one where he was cared for and safe.

But despite this, he began eating excessively, which may have been a response to previous neglect and possibly inconsistent access to food or unmet emotional needs in his biological home, said Ms Faith Wong, senior social worker at the Singapore Children’s Society.

Neglect is a form of child abuse. In the last two years, some high-profile cases have been in the courts and public eye.

A girl who was killed by her father and her remains hidden in a pot for years; a five-year-old girl who was abused and neglected by her father until her death; a girl who was forced to sleep in a planter box and killed by her mother’s boyfriend. 

Umaisyah, Ayeesha and Megan Khung’s cases have shocked the nation.

In 10 years, the number of child abuse cases investigated by the Protective Service - those that present the highest safety and risk concerns - has risen fivefold.

It has gone up from 343 in 2013 to 2,011 in 2023, according to the latest available data from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

But even in the most serious cases of child abuse, the chances of reunification are high. About 98 per cent of cases investigated by CPS resulted in children staying with their parents or being reunited after being removed.

In Peter's case, he longed to reach out to his mother, even though she was in prison. He reacted positively to her letters fro...