http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4386,269820,00.html:
Tracy Quek
"A SPIKE in youth crime came about last year partly because of teens whose parents were hard hit by the bad economy, say social workers. With money woes at home and little spending cash, more youngsters turned to petty crime - stealing, shoplifting or hawking pirated VCDs.
Last year, the number of nine- to 16-year-olds charged in the Juvenile Court rose 49 per cent from 2002 - from 388 to 578.
The link to the economy is just one aspect emerging from a new study the court has compiled from the cases it dealt with over those two years."
