Rapists above 50 years old should not be spared caning, says President Halimah Yacob
President Halimah Yacob (Screengrab: CNA)
On Monday, Madam Halimah brought up the idea again, writing in a Facebook post: "Rapists should not be spared the cane just because they are fifty years old. It’s ironic that they could escape from the pain caused by caning despite the lifetime of severe trauma and irreparable damage that they cruelly inflicted on their victims which will last a lifetime. "In some cases, the rapes were committed earlier but reported only after the perpetrator reached fifty years old. It’s timely that we review this law," she added. "It’s our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them."
Last week, CNA reported a case of a 54-year-old man who was sentenced to jail for molesting his daughter repeatedly from when she was 10 years old. In November, a man admitted to trying to rape his four-year-old daughter twice, while another father went on trial for allegedly grooming his daughter over eight years before raping her when she was 12. "I find the recent spate of cases involving rapes of children in their own homes by their male relatives highly disturbing and sickening," Madam Halimah said. "We need to better protect our children from such sexual predators."
Halimah Yacob
I find the recent spate of cases involving rapes of children in their own homes by their male relatives highly disturbing and sickening. We need to better protect our children from such sexual predators. Severe punishments for convicted offenders are important but not sufficient by itself. We need to look at other ways to help our children and stop them from falling prey to such rapists. I worry that there could be many more unreported cases. I can’t even begin to imagine how much pain and damage these young victims had to suffer.
The reported cases follow a certain pattern.
The victims had been groomed by the sex predators who were either their fathers, stepfathers or other male relatives from a very young age so that they thought that the sickening acts committed against them, for years in some cases, were normal.
Quite a number of the victims only discovered that such acts were wrong when they attended sex education classes much later in school. The sex predators had preyed on their innocence to persuade the victims that the perversion was alright.
Some victims were reluctant to complain about the rapes for fear of breaking up the family or losing the main breadwinner. Others were threatened and intimidated into silence.
Imagine the terror and vulnerability of a child stuck in a home that’s supposed to be a sanctuary but became a living hell instead.
We have organisations that deal with domestic violence such as PAVE which are doing good work. I hope that together with the relevant government agencies they could look at ways to better protect our children from sexual abuses in the home.
Also, rapists should not be spared the cane just because they are fifty years old. It’s ironic that they could escape from the pain caused by caning despite the lifetime of severe trauma and irreparable damage that they cruelly inflicted on their victims which will last a lifetime. In some cases, the rapes were committed earlier but reported only after the perpetrator reached fifty years old. It’s timely that we review this law.
It’s our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them.
Timely to review caning exemption for rapists over 50 after 'sickening' cases involving child victims: President Halimah
President Halimah Yacob (pictured) wrote on Facebook about sex predators who prey on their victims' innocence to persuade the victims that the perversion was all right
President Halimah Yacob has called for a review of a law that exempts male rapists above the age of 50 from being caned, stating that it is “ironic” that they can escape from the pain caused by the punishment despite the “lifetime of severe trauma” they inflict on their victims. Madam Halimah made this suggestion in a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 19) in light of what she said is a recent spate of “highly disturbing and sickening” cases involving the rapes of children in their own homes by their male relatives.
Earlier this month, a 50-year-old man was sentenced by the High Court to 28 years' jail for raping and sexually assaulting his stepdaughter over six years. Given his age, no sentence of caning was imposed. Other recent cases include a 37-year-old man who admitted in court on Nov 18 that he had tried to rape his four-year-old daughter twice while his wife was out of the house. The day before, a 58-year-old man was sentenced to 23 years' jail for raping his intellectually disabled daughter after his wife stopped being intimate with him.
Mdm Halimah said that in some rape cases, the offences were committed earlier but reported only after the perpetrator reached 50 years old. “It’s timely that we review this law. It’s our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them,” she added. Anyone convicted of statutory rape can be jailed for up to 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane for each count of the offence.
Rapists above 50 exempted from caning: Any change to law needs ‘serious debate’, chemical castration an option, say lawyers
- President Halimah Yacob called for a review of a law that exempts male rapists above the age of 50 from being caned
- This to protect children, especially those sexually abused by their fathers, stepfathers and male relatives, she said
- Some lawyers said that changing the law may not deter rapists
- One said chemical castration may be an option
- Another said reviewing the law would require a debate in Parliament
Changing a law that exempts male rapists above the age of 50 from being caned may not adequately deter these culprits from targeting children, some lawyers said. One proposed that it may be better to explore having chemical castration as a sentencing option for rapists, while another voiced concerns about health safety measures should men above 50 be caned. They were responding to TODAY regarding President Halimah Yacob’s suggestion on Monday about this matter, saying that her intentions may be good but there are considerations to be made.
Why are criminals above 50 spared caning and how could that change?
The issue of whether rapists aged 50 or older should be exempted from caning was thrust into the spotlight on Monday (Dec 19) when President Halimah Yacob called for a review of the decades-old law. Her suggestion has garnered mixed reactions, ranging from the Law Society of Singapore president agreeing with her to the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) saying that it opposes corporal punishment.
Lawyers and experts said the age limit for judicial caning was likely introduced during the colonial era in the late 1800s when life expectancy was closer to 50 — significantly shorter than in modern times. Singapore’s statutes do not specifically provide a reason for the cut-off age. The average life expectancy at birth for Singapore residents was 83.7 years as of last year, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics.
Mr Adrian Wee from Characterist LLC noted that the age limit is enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code, which Singapore inherited from the British. The cut-off age was most likely implemented because “the general principle is that we don’t cane the old and infirm”, which would be cruel and lead to a "disproportionate amount of suffering", he said. Criminal lawyer Josephus Tan from Invictus Law Corporation added that 50 years of age was possibly seen as near-elderly at the time.
President Halimah Yacob proposes that old rapists should get caned, public suggests harsher alternatives
Singapore President Halimah Yacob’s decision to review the law exempting older sex predators from caning has generated a lot of buzz online recently. Many of the comments on Yacob’s post agreed that there should be heavier punishments for all sexual abusers, regardless of age.
“Should just be caned regardless of age, why bothered to even consider the penetrator’s age when they don’t even care about how young and vulnerable is the victim at the point of trauma caused?!” Poh Peh wrote. Some suggested alternatives to caning such as introducing chemical castration, which is the use of chemicals or drugs to reduce libido and sexual activity. “They are not deterred by jail it seems so castration will be a better [deterrent],” Min Zheng wrote. Then there were suggestions arguing for full-on emasculation and even the death penalty for severe cases. “Some of their deeds destroyed lives.. the victims may not be murdered but their lives [are as] good as destroyed or worse than death,” wrote Jeffrey Poh, who suggested the death penalty. Another suggested starting sex ed classes in schools earlier so children could learn to pick up on red flags sooner. “Maybe the sex education can start earlier in their school journey because kids nowadays are smart & pick up faster, so maybe we can start when they are 3-4 years using dolls,” Fauziah Hanim Akdogan wrote.
Some also raised the question of why female sex offenders of all ages are spared the cane. “Women rapists should also be caned. Why spare them at all? Rapists are rapists,” User Jypt98 wrote. Last March, a 45-year-old housewife was sentenced to only a year in jail for raping her daughter’s underage male schoolmate, who is intellectually disabled.
President Halimah's call for caning older rapists ignites debate, with Aware disagreeing with use of corporal punishment
A suggestion by President Halimah Yacob to allow the caning of rapists above the age of 50 received mixed responses from some quarters on Tuesday (Dec 20). The president of the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) expressed support for the idea, while an advocacy group disagreed with the use of corporal punishment.
They were responding to a call by Mdm Halimah on Monday to review Section 325 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which exempts all men above 50, women, and men sentenced to death from being caned. Mdm Halimah wrote in a Facebook post to say it is “ironic” that male rapists above 50 can escape from the pain caused by the punishment despite the “lifetime of severe trauma” they inflict on their victims.
The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) said that it welcomed Mdm Halimah's "empathetic post" about recent cases involving the sexual abuse of children by close family members. However, it opposed the use of corporal punishment entirely, arguing in a Facebook post that it could backfire and normalise the use of violence instead. This applies even when caning is meted out as a response to acts of violence, since such a penalty "enforces the inherently violent idea that authority and norms should be established through physical domination", Aware added.
related:
'A gross failure of morals': The extra trauma when a father sexually abuses his child
Disclosing child sexual abuse is already difficult for a child, but even more so when the perpetrator is their father
A total of 72 incidents were investigated in 2011, compared to 181 in 2017, 248 in 2018, 210 in 2019 and 261 in 2020. None of the public agencies and non-profit organisations that see child sexual abuse cases that CNA spoke to measure granular details, such as whether there was an increase in child sexual abuse cases specifically involving fathers or father figures.
But it is undeniable that such cases are repulsive. "Words cannot adequately describe the abhorrent nature of the acts by the accused," said Justice Dedar Singh Gill about the case involving the man who raped his daughter and forced his son to rape his own mother. He added that the man's acts were "an assault on the basic values of being human". CNA spoke to organisations to understand how sexual abuse cases involving a father as the perpetrator may differ from other instances of child sexual abuse.
Why child sexual abuse can often be a sustained, hushed up ordeal over many years
It is not enough to increase jail time for those who sexually abuse children
Recently, a man was sentenced to 33 years’ jail for raping or sexually abusing all three of his daughters over 14 years. Beyond the shock at the ghastliness of his crimes, observers have been aghast at the prolonged nature of the sexual abuse. How was it possible for a man to carry on the abuse for more than a decade without being found out?
It is horrifying to think that child sexual abuse can be so protracted, but many other cases have demonstrated that it can be drawn out over many years. Earlier this year, a bus driver was sentenced to nine years for molesting his stepdaughter over more than 20 years. In another case in November 2020, a freelance cameraman was convicted for sexually abusing his girlfriend’s two underage daughters over six years.
Disclosing or detecting abuse is a critical first step that allows intervention and provides victims with supportive and therapeutic resources. Those resources can mitigate negative long-term consequences after the fact. But a complex interplay of familial, cultural and societal factors make it difficult for children to even disclose abuse, and for parents and caregivers to uncover such wrongdoing.
When children say they’ve been sexually abused, believe them
One might feel overwhelmed and confused when a child tells you he or she has been sexually abused but we need to create safe spaces for them, says one observer from AWARE
When Tina* was sexually abused by her father, she was in primary school and had thought it was “normal” for fathers and daughters to be physically intimate.
“I remember feeling lost and scared. My mother is very proud of the family and I didn’t want to hurt her.” The abuse went on for five years, and her feelings of guilt and complicity kept her quiet for a decade. The first time she spoke about her sexual abuse was at the Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) last year. Tina’s story is not unique. In the last two months, at least 13 reports on child sexual crimes appeared in local media.
While media coverage can shed light on the prevalence of sexual abuse among young people, we in turn need to break the taboo and start talking about child sexual abuse. Only when we talk about it can we understand the reality and gravity of such crimes, its impact on children, and how adults can sensitively support survivors. After all, most cases, like Tina’s, don’t get formally reported; much fewer reach the courts and receive media attention. Countless survivors of child sexual abuse only recognise their experiences for what they are as adolescents or adults.
When does a touch become unsafe? When a 6-year-old discloses sexual abuse
Safeguarding our children from sexual abuse has got to start young, says Singapore Children’s Society CEO Alfred Tan
When a particular card showed a man touching a boy on his groin area, a boy in class insisted that it was a good touch, despite the rest of his classmates disagreeing. When asked why, the boy replied that his father, as well as his father’s friend, had taken off his clothes and touched his penis.
To the boy, this was part of their play and because he had not been taught body safety skills before. He did not realise that he had been sexually abused.
Caning in Singapore
Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, prison, reformatory, military, school, and domestic. These practices of caning as punishment were introduced during the period of British colonial rule in Singapore. Similar forms of corporal punishment are also used in some other former British colonies, including two of Singapore's neighbouring countries, Malaysia and Brunei.
Of these, judicial caning is the most severe. It is applicable to only male convicts under the age of 50 for a wide range of offences under the Criminal Procedure Code, up to a maximum of 24 strokes per trial. Always ordered in addition to a prison sentence, it is inflicted by specially trained prison staff using a long and thick rattan cane on the prisoner's bare buttocks in an enclosed area in the prison. Male criminals who were not sentenced to caning earlier in a court of law may also be punished by caning in the same way if they commit aggravated offences while serving time in prison. Similarly, male juvenile delinquents in reformatories may be punished by caning for serious offences. Servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who commit serious military offences may be sentenced by a military court to a less severe form of caning in the SAF Detention Barracks, which houses military offenders.
In a much milder form, caning is used as a disciplinary measure in schools. Boys aged between 6 and 19 may be given up to three strokes with a light rattan cane on the buttocks over clothing or the palm of the hand as a punishment for serious misconduct, often as a last resort. As the law does not allow schools to cane girls, they receive alternative forms of punishment such as detention or suspension. A smaller cane or other implement is often used by some parents to punish their children. This practice is allowed in Singapore but not encouraged by the government. The Singaporean government has stated that in its opinion, the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not prohibit "the judicious application of corporal punishment in the best interest of the child."
S'pore's top court rules caning constitutional
City-state refutes international criticism following court decision last week
Last Thursday, Andreas Von Knorre, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, were sentenced to nine months in jail and three strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to committing the offenses last year. They had initially left Singapore but were eventually arrested in Malaysia and extradited back to the city-state. Following the decision, Phil Robertson, deputy-director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, criticized the judiciary’s “shameful recourse” to using torture, calling the decision indicative of a “blatant disregard for international human rights standards.” “Every day that Singapore keeps caning on its books is a dark day for the country’s international reputation,” Robertson told Reuters in an email.
Caning in Singapore involves being struck by a rattan stick, which results in excruciating pain and can leave significant physical damage.
Recent spate of child sexual abuse cases:
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Protecting Our Minors from Underage Sex Crimes
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Pre-school teacher who humiliated 5-year-old boy suspended
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Protecting Our Minors from Underage Sex Crimes
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Toddlers died after abuse by mum
Pre-school teacher who humiliated 5-year-old boy suspended
Convention on the Rights of the Child
