focus was to determine the frequency of elder abuse cases presented to an emergency
unit in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The findings revealed that out of the 62,826 elderly
patients aged 65 and above, only 17 physical elder abuse cases were detected and
these patients actually suffered from "non-accidental trauma or complained of other
acts of cruelty” (Cham and Seow, 2000:571). The frequency of elder abuse reporting
to the emergency department therefore stood at a mere 0.03 percent. The researchers
concluded that elder abuse thus constituted 2.9 percent of the 573 family violence
cases involving adults between the 1994-1997 periods. According to Singapore
geriatrician, Pang Weng Sun, "this relatively low number of cases was likely to be the
tip of the iceberg as there are many such cases that do not come to the hospital and
go largely unreported" (2000:567).