Netizens have been questioning the sentence a National University of Singapore (NUS) dentistry student received after he strangled his ex-girlfriend.
On Tuesday (21 Jul), the PAP Women’s Wing (WW) released a press statement regarding the case, expressing their dissapointment on the verdict of the case.
In the statement, the WW emphasised that they “strongly denounce violence against women”.
Acknowledging the public sentiments towards the NUS student’s sentence, they added that they too were “dismayed” and felt that,
The sentence in this case appears disproportionate to the offence.
While the group respected the institutions which made the decisions, they felt that there were “legitimate concerns” that had to be considered.
The WW has apparently expressed their concerns regarding the sentencing to Home Affairs Minsiter K Shanmugam, who will look into the matter.
They ended off saying that they will continue advocating women’s issues and their protection in Singapore.
Many female Members of Parliament (MP) from the PAP also took to Facebook to express their thoughts on the issue.
Newly-elected MP Carrie Tan thanked members of the public for showing “concern and indignance” in the sentencing of the student.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo chimed in to emphasise that this was a crucial issue.
MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling also shared her zero-tolerance attitude with regard to violence against women.
Other MPs like Indranee Rajah, Sun Xueling, and Hany Soh have also shared the statement on their Facebook page.
While the crime itself was disturbing enough, it was the sentence NUS dentistry student Yin Zi Qin received that left many irate.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the 23-year-old strangled his ex-girlfriend after failing to convince her not to break up.
When the 21-year-old screamed, Yin reportedly proceeded to press his thumb into her eye, causing her to bleed and black out.
The 23-year-old was given a community-based sentence — 12 days of detention and a 5-month day reporting order. He must also complete 80 hours of community service in the period of a year.
Many found this sentence light, considering how the victim had suffered both mental and physical distress from the incident.
Netizens believed the sentence was unacceptable, some banded together in a petition for harsher sentence.
The question of rehabilitation have always been at odds with the quest for justice, and this case is no different.
Yin was not given probation by the judge in consideration of his age and rehabilitative prospect.
The justice system is, at the end the day, a judgement system by humans subject to ambiguities and potential flaws.
While public sentiment should not sway such decisions, we hope the legal system would do right by both the people it is prosecuting and those it is protecting.
Featured image adapted from PAP and Google Maps.
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