Police handling of rape cases in Singapore : Skills Upgrading Needed.
http://www.todayonline.com/Print/Singapore/EDC091120-0000099/Victim-reveals-more-of-ordeal-to-female-officer
(reproduced at the end of this post too. I hope that she will be strong, know that none of this is her fault, and that many people care about her and will support her all the way)
(If you are, or know the victim of a sexual/domestic violence crime , and wish to speak anonymously to a female counsellor before deciding whether or not to report to the police, or to simply get help, the AWARE Helpline is open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 9.30pm. Call 1800 774 5935. Aware also has a BeFriender service for a female volunteer to accompany you to make reports, see doctors etc. Aware also has face-to-face private counselling with female professional counsellors. All services are free. Aware depends on the generous financial donations from the public who support our work. http://www.aware.org.sg/direct-services/helpline/ Lesbian/Gay/Bi – Affirmative )
She’s just victimised over and over;
first by the perpertrators,
then by the police
(insensitive on their part, why did the victim have to request to speak privately to a female officer when it was the job of the officers to help her feel safe? I would even say that by having the male officers interogate the victims, they are creating so much more distressed and should be disciplied for their behavior. This reveals systematic lack of appropriate training for for the force as a whole),
then the media
( as one FB comment goes: “There were 3 officers at the scene, one of whom was a female. The victim didn’t want to reveal the details to the female officer in the presence of the the male officers and requested to speak with the female officer alone. It is quite normal for rape victims to downplay the shame by referring to the incident as molest. This piece of non-news has no purpose – either the reporter doesn’t know the subject matter or it’s a report for the sake of reporting on this particular court case.” )
and then by lowlife like this (before you leave a comment for my post, I hope you think about whether you are one of these lowlife, and if you are, please go somewhere else)
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2572165&page=5
who make me truly hope that hell exists.
This may not be the most ideal recommendations on how rape cases should be handled, but it’s the best I could find during the 15 min I had to write this. (Appreciate if you fwd me links to better sites/guidelines if you know of them) I was just comparing the recommendations with the TODAY article (reproduced below). Maybe all these were done, just not fully reported. Or maybe the investigations were done exactly as reported, but the Singapore system of having male officers badger her is better. You decide.
First Responder Duties
As with any other violent crime, the first officer on scene must ensure the victim receives medical attention. Paramedics must bring the victim to a hospital for medical care and a physical examination to establish the crime of rape or sexual assault. Investigators will take the victim’s garments as evidence, so officers should bring a change of clothes for the victim to the hospital whenever possible. The time to plan for this is early in the interaction. Many victims will have an advocate or friend with them to call on their behalf. Give this person the assignment of getting a change of clothing for the victim. Maintaining the chain of evidence is crucial, and a police officer, preferably a female officer, should accompany the victim in the ambulance.In addition to following normal procedures in protecting primary and secondary crime scenes, one of the first responders (preferably a female officer) should conduct a preliminary interview with the victim in private to determine if she knows or can identify the person who raped her. The officer should obtain a physical description of the rapist and ask the victim to explain what happened. The investigator, a rape counselor, or another care provider will conduct a detailed follow-up interview in a setting most comfortable to the victim.
One thing we lack here in Singapore is Rape Crisis Center. I’m sure we have people with the appropriate expertise in Singapore to set up such a centre. I hope it gets set up. If anyone is interested, I’ll be willing to contribute in whatever way I can.
The UK Rape Crisis website has some great material & I’m just highlighting some here :
Reporting Rape: http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/reportingrape.html
Giving Support: http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/givingsupport.html
And I was SO SO SO impressed by this page ….. the sensitivity shown : http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/hideyourtracks.html
(If you are, or know the victim of a sexual/domestic violence crime , and wish to speak anonymously to a female counsellor before deciding whether or not to report to the police, or to simply get help, the AWARE Helpline is open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 9.30pm. Call 1800 774 5935. Aware also has a BeFriender service for a female volunteer to accompany you to make reports, see doctors etc. Aware also has face-to-face private counselling with female professional counsellors. All services are free. Aware depends on the generous financial donations from the public who support our work. http://www.aware.org.sg/direct-services/helpline/ Lesbian/Gay/Bi – Affirmative)
———————————————————————————-
//
But the 17-year-old student later revealed privately to a female police officer details about the alleged rape that took place on Boxing Day last year.
The girl was still wearing the clothes from the previous night when officers first visited her, with smudged make-up on her face and her eyes puffy, Station Inspector Kim Lai Kuan of Jurong Police Division told the court.
According to her, the girl also appeared moody and in a daze.
Five young men aged between 17 to 20 are in the dock for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting the girl in a flat in Woodlands between 4am and 6am on Dec 26 last year.
Hours after the alleged attack, her boyfriend called the police, saying his girlfriend had been “molested” by a group of men in a van.
She had confided in him in an online chat but threatened to kill herself if he called the police, the court heard.
After SI Kim arrived at the flat with her two colleagues, SI Mohamed Azmi Chomil and Sergeant Mohammad Ridzuan Abdul Samad, they interviewed the girl in the living room.
The girl, now 18, repeated the story of being molested in a van.
When pressed by SI Mohamed Azmi for a description of the van, she was not “forthcoming” and requested to speak to SI Kim in private.
In her bedroom, she recounted to SI Kim the ordeal of how she had too much to drink in a Woodlands apartment and was raped by five men, one of whom was a friend of hers.
The case was later referred to the Serious Sexual Crimes branch of the Criminal Investigation Department.
The court was not told why the girl had first claimed to be molested in a van. She is likely to give evidence behind closed doors next week.
(If you are, or know the victim of a sexual/domestic violence crime , and wish to speak anonymously to a female counsellor before deciding whether or not to report to the police, or to simply get help, the AWARE Helpline is open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 9.30pm. Call 1800 774 5935. Aware also has a BeFriender service for a female volunteer to accompany you to make reports, see doctors etc. Aware also has face-to-face private counselling with female professional counsellors. All services are free. Aware depends on the generous financial donations from the public who support our work. http://www.aware.org.sg/direct-services/helpline/ Lesbian/Gay/Bi – Affirmative)
Like this:
31 Responses
Subscribe to comments with RSS.
That said, I also think it is completely unfair to the accused persons to be named publically before they were proven guilty. This practice should be disallowed —- name them if you want, but only upon conviction!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1018913/1/.html
I agree that the police should have handled the case more professionally. I also agree that rape victims go through trauma.
But I disagree with you on the blanket application “This is not your fault” statement too liberally – even when the victim herself has in some way contributed to the case.
http://wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.com/2009/11/feminists-be-responsible-stop-blanket.html
Don’t get me started on insensitive IOs. I’ve heard horror stories about IOs accusing rape victims of lying, saying that they actually wanted it/ asked for it.
[...] Daily Discourse – Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Apathy among Singaporeans.. – Journalism.sg: Singapore scores high marks in test of access to government information – The Temasek Review: Economic Freedom and Political Liberty – Singapore Life and Times: A Serious Flood? – TOC: Singapore Police Force – stretched and fatigued – TOC: Casinos, the Internet and the sex trade – The Temasek Review: Will a “Fajar generation” emerge in Singapore ever again? – The Lionheart: Steps to Stagnation – Mathia Lee: Police handling of rape cases in Singapore : Skills Upgrading Needed. [...]
About the Hardwarezone link:
This is the kind of stuff that repulse me most about local forums. Yes, you read it, local forums.
Local forums are full of demeaning and degrading remarks about women, especially on local women, and whenever I see these kind of stuff I have to constantly remind myself that they DO NOT represent the entire of Singapore men (thank goodness).
It really doesn’t matter at all how she got into the place she was or what she did.
The fact is that legally, and ethically, if a person (male or female) agrees to sex, but even at the last moment, just prior or centimeters away from penetration, withdraws their consent, and says NO, it would be rape for the other party to continue.
Because everyone of us are allowed to change our mind. It is not a crime or even ethically wrong to change one’s mind. That change of decision needs to be respected at all.
If a person is drunk or under drugs or unconscious or mentally unsound or underage, this person is deemed to be UNABLE to consent. In another words, it is a blanket NO.
Clear cut under law. If he/she says Yes, it means NO. If he/she doesn’t say Yes, it means NO. If he/she says No, it means NO.
It doesn’t matter how slutty he/she looks, behaves, where he/she went. Ignorance or misinterpretation of signals is not an excuse. Because it is clearly stated under law that if a person is drunk or under drugs or unconscious or mentally unsound or underage, EVERYONE ought to know it is a NO.
The only sticky issue I see here is that the perpertrators themselves are teens……..
What’s so sticky about their being teenagers. Do they not know what rape means? Do they not know one person shouldn’t be forced to do anything he or she doesn’t want or like, much less when it comes to a very intimate act that is sex?
There is something very wrong somewhere if they do not know what rape is. But if they do, there is nothing sticky about it. They must take responsible for what they have done – they are not little children.
actually Jezebella, i do agree with you — afterall this is not stat rape, it’s out right rape
but perhaps we should presume innocence for now, until they are proven guilty in court? everyone deserves a fair trial without prejudice.
I think the media actually should not name anyone until convicted
there has been so many previous cases where a person’s reputation is smeared, and later shown to be innocent. That ‘s very unjust for them
I’ll just like to reiterate:
If you are a low life, go somewhere else.
I’m not going to approve any comments from lowl lifes
(does not refer to anyone here, because I don’t publish low life comments)
Mathia, I can well imagine the kinds of comments you are getting on this post. Anyone who doubts that Singapore – and Singapore blog commentors in particular – have a misogyny problem only has to post something vaguely anti-rape to be disabused of that notion.
Thanks for writing about this important topic.
Jolene
I think our officers really need more training to handle these cases.
BTW have you seen the video on The Online Citizen http://theonlinecitizen.com/ from “Bored in Bikinis”. They make women look so mentally challenged….they do this to make money. I must be impressionable after watching the video I started to talk very slowly to women in case they can’t catch what I say.
Ok, this is a practical idea.
I suggest that a trained and experienced professional (psychologists? counselors?), preferably from a non-profit organization or simply volunteer her time, be available to the police whenever there are cases of rape.
The counselor will then assist the female police officer so that the case can be handled in a way that is most appropriate for the victim.
Now……
Why is there a need for a counselor? Can’t the female police officer do the job?
The reason is very simple. Female police officers have to handle not just rape cases but a lot of other criminal cases as well. You can put a female police officer through a course for this, but she will lack experience. And unless there are many rape cases (the horrors!) for her to attend to, she will always be inexperienced.
Then when officers get promoted and job scope changes, new inexperienced officers will start the cycle all over again.
By “outsourcing” part of the work to trained and experienced professionals, everybody benefits. Eventually, it is expected that the Ministry of Home Affairs pay these professionals based on the number of cases handled.
oh i need to buy lottery, for the 2nd time in a row, in a day, i agree with CM 100% again! ; D
oh and many 1st world countries have a rape crisis center to do exactly just that.
If anyone wannts to get trained and set up something here, I’ll really love to contribute to that effort in whatever capacity I have
Hey JoeLee, thanks for your link, i just saw it.
Actually what caught my eye was the article above it, about the Home Team being stretched
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/11/singapore-police-force-%e2%80%93-stretched-and-fatigued/
The last time i was at the police station, the poor female officer was multitasking 3 cases……….. macham like stock brokers office.
But we still have time to arrest people standing in T-shirts with undesirable words. Standing peacefully.
Mathia Lee,
Stretched? Everyday I walk home I have to walk pass a few blocks of flats and always see those O$P$ artwork at the void deck and lifts. 12,000 cases of loan shark harassment reported year to date and less than 1% resulted in arrests. Yesterday, I went to eat somewhere in China town on my way home somewhere near the Police building, I was suddenly found my self surrounded by hookers some of them better looking that this month’s FHM cover. If not for my steel resolve (and empty wallet) I might have been tempted.
Besides their inept handling of this rape case, our little island seems to be overrun by loan shark and hookers. Some people say there are relatively few robberies only because there are many openings for loan shark runners our criminal elements don’t have to resort to armed robbery which is hardwork and carries a far heavier penalty.
Saying they are stretched appears to be an understatement.
Solobear>Even if the victim has somehow contributed to the case, it isn’t the IO’s job to comment on whether or not it’s her fault. It is extremely damaging for rape/ sexual abuse (SA) victims to be accused of lying/ not be believed, or made to think that they are somehow responsible for the SA. Often, victims experience secondary trauma when they are disbelieved or made to feel that it is their fault. Some victims even confess that the most damaging part about the SA wasn’t the rape/ molest itself, but being disbelieved by family members/ ridiculed by the IO at the police station.
CM> very interesting suggestion. Unfortunately, there aren’t many psychologists trained in investigative interviewing for SA in Singapore.. I don’t know about other rape/ SA victims.. but child abuse cases do get referred for psychological assessment at the very least..
Why emulate other countries with a rape crisis center?
It will only add to more bureaucracy and cost.
Advertising is needed so that people know that there is a crisis center. There is another phone number to remember. Possibly, there would be more fear for a victim to approach the center, if there’s a physical building.
With 200-300 rape cases per year, all that is required is 4-5 counselors contract out to the police. Counselors get first contact with victims. Confused victims who are fearful and don’t know what to do get immediate help.
You won’t get all this benefits with a separate center unless the police are willing to coordinate. And then there’s the time lag in setting up the center.
The fastest and cheapest way to help victims today, is to gather the relevant people/groups/institutions and write a suggestion to the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Did you know that more than 90% of rape/molest/physical/mental etc abuse cases happen at home, with friends/ family? And that most of the victims are very fearful of even calling the police? And because of that they never get help, even tho’ they want help but don’t know where to get it which don’t involve police?
Even in this particular case. Do you notice the victim did not involve the police? her first response was suicidal, the first person she notified was her boyfriend, and that it was he who called the police? If he was not in the picture, or if he thought she was at fault, or if he just plain didn’t care, it would be another unreported statistic?
And why do victims not want to report?
2 main reasons (out of many)
1. Many think they are at fault and so either it wasn’t rape, or that they would be punished / get bad press (look at what this girl is going through wilth all the lowlife around)
2. In family cases, they don’t want the person to be jailed. Or there is alot of pressure from the family to not report. Or the family doesn’t believe them — and punishes them instead. Or they are ashamed. etc etc.
That doesn’t mean they don’t want help. That doesn’t mean they don’t want more info about the consequences and the support available, before deciding whether to report.
Which is why it’s so important to have a number to call that is NOT linked to any authority figure. It could be a new number, or it could be an extension of the available ngo services eg, SOS, Aware’s etc
In response to some comments on Solo Bear’s article, that females make themselves safer by either not acting like sluts, or by arming themselves/learning martial arts.
Good point, pointed out by CM there, that most perpertrators are trusted people whom you will not carry a knife against, or it may be too late etc etc.
In class, this is one concept to introduce :
One of the main ways to reduce (does not eliminate) your risk, is to not put yourself in a vulnerable position in the first place.
I like to pose this scenario.
Girl 1:
Dresses really sexily, shortest skirt and lowest cut blouse ever, behaves completely sluttily.
She goes on a date, and insists that they stay at a really public place — restaurants, arcades etc cos it’s boring to be at home. ( She’s smart enough to watch her drinks & knows that getting wasted on alcohol is just not sexy )
Girl 2:
Your typical good girl. Dresses very conservatively. long sleeve, long pants, maybe even socks and jacket. She tells her long, trusted, steady, religious boyfriend that they shouldn’t waste time and money hanging out at arcades etc. They should study together. Boyfriend says , Sure, My parents are not home today, we can study in peace without being disturbed by anyone at all the whole day.
Which girl is in a more vulnerable position?
So far, I’ve never met anyone who got the answer wrong
Mathia, you forgot Girl 3 and Girl 4……
My logic tells me, Girl 2 is the model answer.
My evilness tells me, Girl 1 is just as vulnerable as Girl 2. It’s just a matter of time and the methodology used.
Do you know what a female friend told me a long time ago? To buy time to fight off rape, dress conservatively but wear tight jeans. This is advice from a girl, not some old grandmother.
Even in this particular case. Do you notice the victim did not involve the police? Her first response was suicidal……
I understand your point. But in this case, the victim didn’t know AWARE or any other organizations can help her either.
Did the boyfriend know about any other organizations to contact? Possibly not.
Therefore setting up another center may not help either, the massive advertising campaign would cost so much, nobody would fund them.
In reality, there are two kinds of faults – The legal and the non-legal.
Non-legal faults are usually associated with personal regret. I believe most of the online discussion about whether the girl contributed to her own situation is focused on these non-legal faults.
It’s partly an emotional thing, something that cannot be quantified scientifically and hence cannot exist legally.
In a situation where rapist is a person unknown to the victim, how often does it not get reported? Anybody knows?
…Many think they are at fault and so… it wasn’t rape…
In a situation where rapist is a person known to the victim, and that the victim placed herself at risk (i.e. personal non-legal fault), and then faults herself and have regrets (like why she didn’t listen to good advice from her granny/mother/friend), this is what you get.
…they (i.e. victims) would be punished…
This translate to the perpetrator holding some power over the victim. This is akin to blackmail, a most sticky situation.
…get bad press…
Ask around. The first question that comes to mind is “WT* is she doing, going out with 5 guys and getting herself drunk?”
Has the girl placed herself in a vulnerable position? Will she regret (i.e. fault herself) for placing herself in a vulnerable position?
So far, I’ve never met anyone who got the answer wrong.
The bad press is simply a mechanism for society to learn and point out mistakes. It’s not an ideal mechanism. This is just an observation, call it assertion if you want.
Check out http://www.careers.gov.sg/
There are 650 vacancies for police officers! Nobody wants to be police officers.
So don’t complain that our police officers are not doing a good enough job. If you are as overloaded as them, you won’t do a good job either.
There are 200+ reported cases of rape per year. If you are sincere about helping these 200 victims per year, get the appropriate connections and ideas to the Ministry of Home Affairs. They have the money to hire, but not many people want to be police officers. This idea is feasible. Contracting existing expertise should be piece of cake for MHA.
Nobody wants to be police officers.==> Interesting. Topic for another day.
get the appropriate connections == > yes, i’m hoping. If anyone knows anyone, please intro, thanks!
From what i understand (correct me if i’m wrong), the police refers the cases of abuse to MCYS to handle.
[...] generation” emerge in Singapore ever again? – The Lionheart: Steps to Stagnation – Mathia Lee: Police handling of rape cases in Singapore : Skills Upgrading Needed. – The Gigamole Diaries: Rising sea levels – what is the impact on Singapore’s coastline?? – [...]
Hi, saw your blog only today. With regards to your curiousity about how the SPF handles cases of abuse, you are so right. I was victimised by a creepy familiy, they wanted to refer to me to CMC, not even MCYS.
I told the officer to just drop my case and banished him into GJS (go jiak sai).
serious? what’s CMC?
some kind of caustic mediation centre
Well, since Singapore is indeed one of the signatories to CEDAW, found some info related to the topic on hand:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/recomm.htm
note part b) and d)
Specific recommendation
24. In light of these comments, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommends that:
(a) States parties should take appropriate and effective measures to overcome all forms of gender-based violence, whether by public or private act;
(b) States parties should ensure that laws against family violence and abuse, rape, sexual assault and other gender-based violence give adequate protection to all women, and respect their integrity and dignity. Appropriate protective and support services should be provided for victims. Gender-sensitive training of judicial and law enforcement officers and other public officials is essential for the effective implementation of the Convention;
(c) States parties should encourage the compilation of statistics and research on the extent, causes and effects of violence, and on the effectiveness of measures to prevent and deal with violence;
(d) Effective measures should be taken to ensure that the media respect and promote respect for women;
(e) States parties in their reports should identify the nature and extent of attitudes, customs and practices that perpetuate violence against women and the kinds of violence that result. They should report on the measures that they have undertaken to overcome violence and the effect of those measures;
(f) Effective measures should be taken to overcome these attitudes and practices. States should introduce education and public information programmes to help eliminate prejudices that hinder women’s equality (recommendation No. 3, 1987);
(g) Specific preventive and punitive measures are necessary to overcome trafficking and sexual exploitation;
(h) States parties in their reports should describe the extent of all these problems and the measures, including penal provisions, preventive and rehabilitation measures that have been taken to protect women engaged in prostitution or subject to trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation. The effectiveness of these measures should also be described;
(i) Effective complaints procedures and remedies, including compensation, should be provided;
(j) States parties should include in their reports information on sexual harassment, and on measures to protect women from sexual harassment and other forms of violence of coercion in the workplace;
(k) States parties should establish or support services for victims of family violence, rape, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence, including refuges, specially trained health workers, rehabilitation and counselling;
.
.
.
(n) States parties in their reports should state the extent of these problems and should indicate the measures that have been taken and their effect;
(o) States parties should ensure that services for victims of violence are accessible to rural women and that where necessary special services are provided to isolated communities;
(p) Measures to protect them from violence should include training and employment opportunities and the monitoring of the employment conditions of domestic workers;
(q) States parties should report on the risks to rural women, the extent and nature of violence and abuse to which they are subject, their need for and access to support and other services and the effectiveness of measures to overcome violence;
(r) Measures that are necessary to overcome family violence should include:
(i) Criminal penalties where necessary and civil remedies in cases of domestic violence;
(ii) Legislation to remove the defence of honour in regard to the assault or murder of a female family member;
(iii) Services to ensure the safety and security of victims of family violence, including refuges, counselling and rehabilitation programmes;
(iv) Rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence;
(v) Support services for families where incest or sexual abuse has occurred;
(s) States parties should report on the extent of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and on the preventive, punitive and remedial measures that have been taken;
(t) States parties should take all legal and other measures that are necessary to provide effective protection of women against gender-based violence, including, inter alia:
(i) Effective legal measures, including penal sanctions, civil remedies and compensatory provisions to protect women against all kinds of violence, including inter alia violence and abuse in the family, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace;
(ii) Preventive measures, including public information and education programmes to change attitudes concerning the roles and status of men and women;
(iii) Protective measures, including refuges, counselling, rehabilitation and support services for women who are the victims of violence or who are at risk of violence;
(u) States parties should report on all forms of gender-based violence, and such reports should include all available data on the incidence of each form of violence and on the effects of such violence on the women who are victims;
(v) The reports of States parties should include information on the legal, preventive and protective measures that have been taken to overcome violence against women, and on the effectiveness of such measures.
I wonder if one of the rape victims is an MP’s daughter, what would happend if the IO suggest that she asked for it.
What do you people think.
Wonder what happened to the girl now? What is the outcome? Were the rapist found guilty?