A Singapore resident recently posted on Reddit that their surveillance camera had captured a child distributing printed materials believed to be People’s Action Party (PAP) flyers in Punggol GRC.
The resident, who uses a moniker on Reddit, wrote: “I happened to view the footage because my bicycle which was parked outside my unit was damaged due to the kid in the video playing around while distributing flyers.”
In the footage, a young girl carrying what appears to be printed materials pushes a boy aside as he playfully kicks at her, before making her way to neighbouring residential units to insert the papers into the gate grilles of those units.
The resident questioned whether the PAP was “deploying kids to distribute their flyers,” suggesting that the materials were flyers of the political party.
The post quickly gained traction among Redditors, with many noting that it would ld constitute a breach of election rules if the girl was indeed distributing flyers related to the party’s political campaign.
It’s worth noting that anyone under 16 years of age is prohibited from taking part in any election activity conducted for the purpose of promoting or procuring electoral success at any election, according to the Election Department’s (ELD) website.
Several commenters suggested that the resident should make a police report, noting that distributing materials bearing a political party logo would still constitute election activity, which children are not allowed to get involved.
Several commenters suggested that volunteers might have been asking their children to help distribute flyers at residential units, so they could finish the task more quickly.
Some are questioning the appropriateness of involving children in such tasks, especially without clear supervision from adults.
One commenter said that volunteers should handle the distribution themselves instead of involving their children, noting that children are too young to be exposed to political activities.
Another commenter wrote that even if the resident lodges a police report, the police might close the case on the grounds of a lack of clear evidence from the footage to prove that the materials were PAP flyers.
The user added that they “don’t trust policemen to do the right thing” as they could fear potential repercussions from those at the upper levels.
Some Redditors wrote that even if the allegation is true, the PAP might find excuses to distance itself from the incident, including claiming to have “no control over volunteers who decides to use their children” for distributing flyers.
While one Redditor suggested that the resident should seek compensation from the PAP for the damage caused to their bicycle, another user responded that the PAP could easily argue that the responsibility lies with a contracted firm engaged for the work, and that it would be the contractor’s obligation to ensure compliance with the rules, not the party.
It remains unclear whether the resident has lodged a formal complaint with the authorities or the PAP regarding the incident.
The PAP has not issued a public response to the specific incident at the time of writing.
The ELD has not responded to TOC’s media inquiry by publication time.
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