Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A Tale Of Two Cities

After a 40 minute hearing, Judge Steven Ashurst of York Crown Court sentenced MOE scholar Wong, 23, to a suspended jail term of 6 months for 17 charges of possessing child pornography videos. He will stay out of jail if he behaves himself for the next 2 years, but he will be listed on the sex offender registry for 7 years. Wong was saved from a potential 5 year imprisonment because the British courts believed that Wong, a first time offender who had pleaded guilty, deserved a second chance in life.

Card carrying PAP member Danny Soo was arrested by the police on 7th July 2009 and jailed 9 months for taking upskirt photos of unsuspecting women. District Judge Lee Poh Choo remarked that even if Soo was active in community service (which was used in his mitigation), he must still face the harsh consequences of his criminal acts. During an exclusive interview with Straits Times in 2007, Young PAP Chairman and MP Teo Ser Luck said he had asked Soo to become the Chairman of Punggol Park Community Club and Citizens’ Consultative Committee in 2006. "He cares for others. He had been volunteering for many years and earned the respect of others to be…a potential leader," Mr Teo had claimed. Too bad his political master cared nought for him. The used douchebag even had to return his Public Service Medal, awarded for 15 years of grassroots work.

Singapore's justice system was inherited from British colonial days. Despite similar origins, the disparity between the administration in both countries makes one wonder if the law here serves to rehabilitate or to evoke punitive malfeasance. Lip service is paid by the politicians for the "Yellow Ribbon Project", spearheaded by the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network, a group of major community and government organisations tasked for the rehabilitation of ex-offenders. One of their stated objectives: Inspire community Action to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders back into society. Yet, one won't be surprised if things really get out of hand. Like the case of the Muslim cleric arrested in north-west Bangladesh, following the death of a woman who was publicly caned as punishment by an Islamic court for an extra marital affair.

One could speculate that the British judge may have be tempered by the spirit of charity during this yule-tide season, when Christians celebrate the birth of a Saviour to save sinners. As for us, we are just relieved we no longer have a Chief Justice whose dispensation of justice depends on the quality of the breakfast he feasted on the particular morning of the court hearing.

4 comments:

  1. Me thinks that we(Singapore/Singaporeans) do not have our own Justice System; me prefers to call the Sin System Law or Legal System, 'Justice' is far too ideal and practical in a country rule by law, is because we are not a nation yet. As such Sin has to adopt a foreign system.

    Maybe, our Institute Of Policy Studies should be blamed. How can such an institute not think of formulating a legal system for our independence after so many years? What national policy is more important than to have a sound law system?

    As to how judges and magistrate work, may i use an experience i had during National Service in 1970. A staff sergeant told us he was punishing us one morning because despite him having 2 wives, none kept him company for the nite. As he felt horny in the morning, he got to punish us. Wonder if our Justice Enforcers are as rational as the staff sergeant?

    patriot

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  2. Frankly why is watching a XXX-rated film a crime whereas watching a R18 film is not when both seems to serve the same erotic purpose.

    It's also known fact that sperm banks will let donors watch XXX-rated films in their privacy to assist the donor to speed up the ejaculation process.

    In this world of internet where XXX-rated material is freely availble, isn't it time that we re-look at our archaic laws to change with the times. Afterall, having sex is not a crime by itself. So how can watching people having sex be a crime ?

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  3. Why is a crime?
    Because the women said so, because ayatollah and the likes of him said so, because..... Old people who spend their lives masturbating over academic studies such as laws and hence no time to screw around or worried being shamed at the highest level don't want you blue collars jokers to get all the fun since they are too busy and OLD to have fun, understand?

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  4. When Dr Alfred Kinsey published his two books on human sexual behavior, critics raised concerns about the methodology he used to collect data, especially data in the reports that could not have been obtained without collaborations with child molesters. The Kinsey Institute acknowledged that men who have had sexual experiences with children were interviewed, men who will be put away by today's courts.

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