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A 17 year-old-boy was arrested by the police for slamming a chair against a glass door at a meet-the-people session at Serangoon North. This happened after the boy and his mom walked out of MP Cynthia Phua's office. It is not clear what transpired in the office to trigger such rage but in an interview with the New Paper, the mother said that Cynthia Phua had asked his son a series of questions : "Who are you? What are you doing? Why are you not working?". The mother explained that she wanted to answer the questions but was not given a chance. The mother and son said that they felt like they were "being scolded". The mother was working as a cleaner at $400 a month salary (Singapore has no minimum wage laws) and lost her income when she broke her wrist fixing a ceiling fan. As there is no comprehensive safety net in Singapore she had to go to the MP office wait in line for help. She goes to the MP office every month for aid. In this MPS, she had defaulted on her HDB loan and HDB threatens to repossess the flat and give her a rental unit but she cannot afford the $138 rental deposit & stamp duty. She was at the MP office to get MP Phua's signature for an appeal letter. Although the request was granted, the mother and son said they walked out of the office feeling like they have been put down. "I had to ask some pointed questions about his employment status to understand the root cause of the problem, so that I can be more effective in helping them" - Cynthia Phua "From what I understand, Madam Phua was being very motherly and very helpful inside the room with them" - MP Lim Hwee Hua According to the New Paper, the 17 year old boy has low IQ and suffers from thalassermia which renders him weak and sickly. He may be charged in court for "committing a rash act" which carries a fine of up to $2500 and a jail term of up to 6 months.