So
much so that the alleged abuse has been reported to both the police and the
Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), which are now investigating
the incident.
In
the video, taken at about 9pm on Monday, the girl, who looks to be of primary
school age, is seen kneeling next to a white car in the carpark of Ikea
Tampines.
A
man, believed to be her father and standing beside a woman, points his finger
at the girl, then swings back his arm and slaps her face.
The
force of the impact makes her head snap back and she almost loses her balance.
A
passer-by who was filming the incident from some distance away said he could
hear the slap.
As
the man walks away, the girl remains kneeling. He then turns back and berates
her as the video ends.
The
passer-by, who sent his video to citizen journalism portal Stomp, said: "I
do not know what the man was upset about, but he was saying things like, 'I
love you, but you cannot say these kind of things to me' and 'It's no longer
your mum's place, it is my place'.
"I'm
not sure if the woman in the video is the mother, but she seemed too scared to
hold him off or do anything."
The
Stomper, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: "I stopped recording the
video after I suspected that the man had noticed me.
"The
man walked away after noticing that more people had started to gather.
"He
shouldn't embarrass his daughter in public places like this and scare other
families with young children.."
POLICE REPORT
The
video has been viewed more than 30,000 times on Stomp as of yesterday evening.
Ikea
confirmed yesterday that the incident occurred on its premises and that it has
made a police report.
An
Ikea spokesman told The New Paper: "From the images in the video, we can
verify that it's an Ikea carpark.
"This
incident has been reported to the police and we will render any assistance they
need in their investigation."
A
netizen who watched the video was concerned enough to report the incident to
MSF.
Identifying
himself as Richard on Stomp's Facebook page, he wrote: "I have reported
this to MSF for their investigation."
He
sought information on the man and his car so that he could forward to MSF and
asked the Stomper to send his uncensored video with details to MSF.
"If
this man can behave this way in public, there is no telling what he has done in
private," he added.
An
MSF spokesman told TNP last night that the ministry and police are looking into
the matter.
MSF
figures show that it investigated 894 cases of child abuse last year, of which
373 were for physical abuse.
Criminal
lawyer Ravinderpal Singh told TNP the slap could be considered as child abuse.
And
if the girl is deemed to be in danger, MSF's Child Protective Service could
step in, especially if the parties can be identified.
Child
psychologist Evonne Lek said if the abuse is repeated, such behaviour can be
deemed physical and emotional abuse, which could have a lasting impact on the
child.
Ms
Lek was concerned the girl remained still during the incident as it could mean
that "this had happened before and she is used to it".
Referring
to online comments that this might have been a case of a parent just
disciplining his child, Psychologist Dr Carol Balhetchet said that regardless,
there is no excuse for such behaviour.
"If
it had been a grown man or woman kneeling in public and getting slapped, it
would not be acceptable. So, why is it so with a child? It's double
standards."
She
agreed that such behaviour is abusive and it was unnatural for the child to not
react.
Noting
that parents must learn to manage their anger, Dr Balhetchet said: "No
matter what the child did, it is the parent's responsibility to demonstrate
respect for the child if they want to be respected."
Source : Thepowerpeople
Forex Trading Scams to Watch
The
forex market involves very active trading of over $1 trillion each day, not
including futures and currency options, which put the trading at closer to $5
trillion daily. The market does not have
much in the way of regulation, although things have started to improve
recently.
The
opportunity still exists for many forex scams, which tempt new investors with a
promise of quick fortunes through "secret trading formulas" or
algorithm-based "proprietary" trading methodologies. Before choosing
a broker or platform, go through your own due diligence by visiting BASIC, or
the Background Affiliation Status Information Center, created by the
self-regulatory NFA (National Futures Association).
01
Signal Sellers
Stock
Market Illustration
One
of the challenges a rookie forex investor faces is determining which operators
to trust in the forex market and which to avoid. Signal sellers make a good
example.
Basically,
a signal seller is offering a system that purports to identify favorable times
for buying or selling a currency pair. The system may be manual, where the
trader enters the info and gets a result, or it may be automated.
Some
systems rely on technical analysis, others rely on breaking news and many
employ some combination of the two. But they all purport to provide information
that leads to favorable trading opportunities. Signal sellers usually charge a
daily, weekly or monthly fee for their services.
Some
analysts propose that many or even most signal sellers are scam artists. A
frequent criticism is that if it were really possible to use a system to beat
the market, why would the individual or firm that has this information make it
widely available? Wouldn't it make more sense to use this incredible signaling
system to make huge profits?
Other
analysts distinguish between known scammers and more reputable information
sources such as Metatrader, that offer a well-thought-out signaling service.
Behind
these opposing views lies a larger difference of opinion about whether anyone
can predict the next move in a trading market. This fundamental disagreement
won't be settled any time soon. Nobel Prize-winning Economist Eugene Fama
proposes in his well-regarded Efficient Market Hypothesis that finding these
kinds of momentary market advantages really isn't possible.
His
economist colleague, Robert Shiller, also a Nobel Prize winner, believes
differently, citing evidence that investor sentiment creates booms and busts
that can provide investment and trading opportunities.
The
best way to determine if a signal seller can benefit you is to open a paper
money or practice trading account with one of the better-known forex brokers.
Be patient, and eventually, you'll determine whether predictive signaling works
for you or doesn't.
02
Phony Forex Investment Management Funds
In
the world of investing, outrageous claims are the surest sign of potential
fraud
In
the past few years, forex management funds have proliferated. Most of these, if
not all, are scams. They offer an investor the "opportunity" to have
his forex trades managed by highly-skilled forex traders who can offer
outstanding market returns in return for a share of the profits.
The
problem is, this "management" offer requires the investor to give up
control over his money and to hand it to someone he knows little about other
than the hyped-up and often completely false record of success available on the
scammer's website and brochures.
The
investor often ends up getting nothing, while the scammer uses investors' funds
to buy yachts and private islands.
A
good rule of thumb in the forex market, as with other investments, is that if
it sounds almost too good to be true, such as annual returns of more than 100
percent, for example, it's almost certainly a scam.
03
Dishonest Brokers
Trader
watching stocks crash on screen
Although the forex market is not entirely
unregulated, it has no central regulating authority. The forex spot market is
completely unregulated and accounts for the majority of trades. Unsurprisingly,
some forex brokers do not deal fairly with their customers and, in some
instances, defraud them.
You
have two ways to avoid bad brokers. Before engaging a forex broker, look the
brokerage up on a website that identifies dishonest forex brokers. Better yet,
trade with a broker that also handles other stock market trades and is subject
to SEC and FINRA oversight. While the forex trade itself may be unregulated, no
broker subject to such oversight would risk its license for other securities by
defrauding its forex customers.
