It has been more than a week since the news about the shower filming scandal involving National University of Singapore (NUS) students Monica Baey (the victim) and Nicholas Lim has been made public.

There were suggestions on how Singapore’s educational institutions should work actively to prevent such unfortunate incidents from its frequent occurrences. 

Some of these include what kind of punishments should be meted out as deterrence, who should determine what is fair and sufficient and whether we can be more empathetic towards victims.

Why 12-month warning to Lim is reasonable

Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh is one of the most prominent politicians to share his thoughts on the case.

Pritam was responding to an article by The Straits Times which interviewed a few legal experts who deemed that NUS had handled Baey's case fairly.

As a lawyer, Pritam understands that 'proportionality is a central feature of criminal law'. Hence, the legal experts might find a 12-month conditional warning to Lim to be reasonable.

'Reading this article, it is not a surprise many trained in law found the Police's explanation of why some offenders are treated more harshly than others, rational and reasonable. Even with a plea of guilt, proportionality is a central feature of criminal law. The Attorney-General, arguably the most powerful person in Singapore (because he/she decides who gets charged and who does not) in his/her wisdom, has to determine what is appropriate given the totality of the facts and circumstances.'

While this is the first time that Pritam is commenting on the issue, former WP NCMP Gerald Giam has initially weighed in on the issue last week.

He commented on why the local media has centred only on whether NUS should take a 'tougher stand'.

Encourage civic participation and organisation

Most importantly, Pritam questioned why the issue only surfaced after Baey stood up for herself and raise the issue publicly online.

He is supportive of NUS students' and citizens' active participation in this incident, even though he has heard some netizens undermining the students' involvement as 'a mob':

'What I find disconcerting and even unacceptable are some who call NUS students and Singaporeans - aghast at the 'light punishments' meted out thus far - "a mob". If they are a mob, we should thank the collective mob for making us look at ourselves in the mirror and question whether the approach to dealing with sex crimes and misdemeanours by tertiary students is appropriate.'

He, in turn, urged civic-minded Singaporeans to contribute actively to effect positive change to the society.

'More significantly, that it took one person to stand up and make a difference highlights the lack of civic participation and organisation in Singapore. We cannot leave it for someone else to stand up and make a difference. All of us must play our part. As we push boundaries, be open to reason and compromise, with a view to make tomorrow better. If you are scared to organise or are too apathetic to want to deal with the issue or find it sufficient to contribute "online", change will be slow and it will require a Monica Baey to stand up. That requires courage. We can all do better than this. Talk, Participate, Organise, Take Charge.'

Pritam concludes by asking all Singaporeans to play their part, instead of just contributing their views online.

He hopes that Singaporeans can "participate, organise and take charge" to make tomorrow better for Singapore.

Here's his post in full:

Here's the full text, for your convenience:

Reading this article, it is not a surprise many trained in law found the Police's explanation of why some offenders are treated more harshly than others, rational and reasonable. Even with a plea of guilt, proportionality is a central feature of criminal law. The Attorney-General, arguably the most powerful person in Singapore (because he/she decides who gets charged and who does not) in his/her wisdom, has to determine what is appropriate given the totality of the facts and circumstances.

Aggravation matters. Premeditation matters. Remorse matters. Foolishness and stupidity as opposed to criminal intent matters. The impact of the crime on the victim matters. These, amongst others, including society’s mores are relevant considerations and they will continue to be relevant regardless how NUS' review committee reconsiders its approach to sex crimes on campus.

What I find disconcerting and even unacceptable are some who call NUS students and Singaporeans - aghast at the 'light punishments' meted out thus far - "a mob". If they are a mob, we should thank the collective mob for making us look at ourselves in the mirror and question whether the approach to dealing with sex crimes and misdemeanours by tertiary students is appropriate.

Organisation and participation are a central feature of citizenship.

More significantly, that it took one person to stand up and make a difference highlights the lack of civic participation and organisation in Singapore. We cannot leave it for someone else to stand up and make a difference. All of us must play our part. As we push boundaries, be open to reason and compromise, with a view to make tomorrow better. If you are scared to organise or are too apathetic to want to deal with the issue or find it sufficient to contribute "online", change will be slow and it will require a Monica Baey to stand up. That requires courage. We can all do better than this. Talk, Participate, Organise, Take Charge.

On another note, Parliament will debate an extensive Penal Code review Bill from 6 May 2019 called the Criminal Law Reform Bill which came up for first reading in Parliament in February this year. Whole buckets of amendments and new offences, including sexual offences such as voyuerism are being proposed. The Workers' Party will speak on this Bill, and the other two up for debate - POFMA and the Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Bill.

Links I found helpful:

--------------------

Report on SPF Media Statement: https://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/…/police-explain-decision-…

Mothership: NUS 2 Strikes Policy https://mothership.sg/2019/04/nus-lenient-sex-crimes/

CNA: Children filmed multiple times in toilet by voyuer at NUS https://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/documents-reveal-children…

Criminal Law Reform Bill: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/6-2019/Published/20190211…

Recap

If you need a recap of the whole NUS shower filming scandal, here's a timeline of the whole incident: