On Monday (Dec. 19), President Halimah Yacob expressed her dismay at recent cases of child rape in private homes by posting a Facebook post in which she proposed that rapists aged 50 or older should not be spared caning.
A convicted rapist in Singapore faces up to 20 years in prison, in addition to fines and maybe caning, as outlined in the country's Penal Code.
In place of caning, a lengthier jail term may be imposed on offenders aged 50 and over.
When asked about raising the age limit for caning, Mr. Murali Pillai (PAP-Bukit Batok) said, "I don't understand why Parliament can presume in favor of a recurrent sex offender that he is not suitable to be caned when he is plainly fit enough to perpetrate such horrible deeds."
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said “there was no reason" to increase the age limit for caning, noting the "significantly lower" number of men over age 50 and arrested for serious offences that attract caning.
Madam Halimah raised the debate on Monday when she said on Facebook that "rapists should not be spared the cane simply because they are fifty years old." What they cruelly inflicted on their victims would last a lifetime, and yet they were able to escape the pain of caning.
"In other instances, the rapes were perpetrated before the offender turned fifty, but were not reported until then. "I think it's high time we take a look at this law," she continued.
It is our responsibility to look after the next generation, and we must not fail in this.
When asked about the recent incidences of children being raped by male relatives at home, Madam Halimah responded, "I find the current spate of cases exceedingly troubling and repulsive."
"We need to do a better job of keeping our kids safe from sexual predators like that."
She argued that harsh penalties for criminals were necessary but not sufficient.
We need to find new methods to assist our youngsters and protect them from falling prey to such rapists, the president added.
Quite a few further cases may not have been recorded. I just can't fathom the extent of the suffering these little victims must have through.
According to Madam Halimah, there is a pattern to the reported cases: the victims were groomed by sex predators who were either their fathers, stepfathers, or other male relatives, and this grooming began at a young age. This led the victims to believe that the "sickening" acts committed against them, in some cases over the course of years, were acceptable.
Quite a few victims, she said, don't learn that such behaviors are improper until they're exposed to sex education classes much later in school.
She added that the sexual abusers had taken advantage of the victims' naiveté to convince them that what they were experiencing was acceptable.
Some victims were afraid to report the abuse since doing so may result in the loss of the family's sole source of income, while others were coerced and frightened into silence, Madam Halimah said.
"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."
The president expressed the hope that domestic violence organizations in Singapore, such as PAVE, will collaborate with government authorities to find better ways to safeguard children from sexual abuse at home.
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