'I was surprised, myself': Shanmugam responds to online backlash over molester verdict

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam has chimed in about the ongoing furore over the case involving Terence Siow, the National University of Singapore (NUS) who escaped jail time despite repeatedly molesting a woman in public. 

Siow was let off with 21 months of supervised probation in lieu of time in prison for the offences he carried out on a train and at Serangoon MRT station last year. District Judge Jasvender Kaur found the 23-year-old suitable for probation due to his academic results that showed that he has “potential to excel in life”, and that his offences are “minor intrusions". 

The backlash came fast across social media. Since the sentencing came to light, the victim, Karmen Siew, publicly expressed her disappointment over the verdict on Facebook. An online petition against “favourable sentences of ‘educated sex offenders” has garnered over 13,000 signatures as of writing.

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Minister Shanmugam came out on Facebook to admit that he too was surprised with the verdict and has since asked the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) for their views. 

“AGC officers told me that they disagreed with the verdict, and that they intend to appeal. That is consistent with my views as well,” he wrote. 

The minister also revealed that the victim’s father sent him a letter about the issue, though its contents remained undisclosed. 

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‘We should now let the Appeal Court look at the matter’

Shanmugam acknowledged the overwhelming public uproar about the outcome of the case, of which the judge was accused of showing an unfair preference for the highly-educated even though Siow has been identified as a repeat sexual misconduct offender. 

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“People are entitled to express their views, unhappiness, with the verdict, and their feelings that the punishment is inadequate,” said the minister. 

Nonetheless, he urged Singaporeans not to cast personal aspersions on the judge, who he asserts as doing her duty to the best of her abilities.

The minister then advised folks to let the Appeal Court look into the matter and decide the final judgement. 

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“If, after the Appeal is decided, we, as a society, still generally believe that the law should deliver a different outcome, then it is not the Courts’ fault.”

Commenters responded by thanking Shanmugam for looking into the case. 

 

ilyas@asiaone.com