• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

PAP hijacks WP’s motion to call for review of S’pore justice system by amending text to say nothing is wrong

by The Online Citizen
05/11/2020
in Law & Order, Parliament
Reading Time: 4 mins read
24

Parliament passed a motion filed by Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim on Singapore’s criminal justice system just before midnight on Wednesday (4 November) after amendments were made to the motion to remove a call for a review of the system.

The original motion read:

“That this House affirms that fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore’s justice system, and calls on the Government to recognise and remedy its shortcomings in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of means or social status, including facilitating a review of the justice system.”

The motion was amended to:

“This House recognises that fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore’s justice system and affirms the Government’s continuous efforts since independence to build a fair and just society, and remedy any shortcoming in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of race, language, religion, economic means or social status.”

People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Murali Pillai, in moving the amendments, said he is not of the view that “anything is taken away (in) the amendments that I’ve proposed”.

Citing nearly three decades of experience with the law as a former police officer and a current lawyer, Mr Murali said that the “hallmark of the law” in Singapore is “independence and transparency of the judiciary” since the Republic’s early days as a sovereign nation.

One of the points the Bukit Batok SMC MP raised involves the question of multiple stakeholders in the administration of justice, from the police to the Deputy Public Prosecutors and the judiciary itself.

While there is still room for improvement in the system which should be debated, Mr Murali said that it is also crucial to balance the interests of the victims and that of state resources.

He also said that in none of the cases he dealt with as a lawyer did he feel that the justice system has been skewed in favour of “connected persons” over vulnerable parties.

All 10 WP MPs and two Non-Constituency MPs from Progress Singapore Party opposed the amended motion.

Ms Lim said that the party cannot support the amended motion as it does not recognise that there are shortcomings and that there will be no review of the justice system as a result.

The original motion, she said, was not raised out of a desire for “heads to roll” in the wake of the Parti Liyani case, but to work towards the “strengthening of the system so that it is built to last for the future”.

Noting that the public has raised questions ranging from those involving miscarriages of justice to whether the prosecution aims to win cases at all costs, Ms Lim said: “Even if the Government and the ruling party are not convinced that the system has shortcomings, the fact that the public is asking such questions should not be ignored.”

It is “sad”, said the Aljunied GRC MP, for the Government to not accept that the system has any shortcomings “after all of the points made today on where improvements can be made or in fact are due”.

Mr Leong Mun Wai stated that PSP is of the view that there needs to be an independent review of the Parti Liyani’s incident, as various matters that may be uncovered by such a review would suggest systemic problems with the justice system.

Poverty and access to justice, issues with law enforcement agencies and justice for crime victims key issues raised by Sylvia Lim in motion

In her motion, Ms Lim drew attention to three key areas: The plight of the poor in obtaining justice, concerns relating to law enforcement agencies, and justice for crime victims.

She raised questions on the extent to which Singapore’s justice system places people on equal footing, “whether CEO or domestic worker”, referencing the Parti Liyani case.

“Have there been domestic helpers, work permit holders and even poorer Singaporeans who believed they were innocent, but have pled guilty to charges because they did not know their rights or could not afford to fight their cases? If we are being honest, we should not ask whether there have been such persons but rather how many there have been,” she said.

Addressing the 2020 Rule of Law Index compiled by the World Justice Project, in which Singapore ranks 12th out of 128 countries, Ms Lim noted that in certain sub-factors, Singapore’s have fallen every year since 2015.

“Singapore was found below average in having effective checks by non-government entities such as the media and civil society and below average in having effective checks on government by Parliament.

“Under the factor of open government, the Rule of Law Index ranks Singapore 28th out of 37 high-income countries on the question of whether there are effective complaint mechanisms for citizens,” she noted.

Singapore, Ms Lim added, is also below the global average on civic participation, which includes the protection of the freedoms of opinion and expression, assembly and association.

Singapore’s criminal justice system, however, has excelled in sub-factors such as the effectiveness of criminal investigation and being free of corruption, she said.

Ms Lim stressed, however, that Singapore ranks poorly among high-income countries in terms of whether the criminal system is free of improper government influence — at 30th place out of 37 among such countries, and globally ranked at 47th.

“The picture for Singapore is thus more mixed than the overall ranking suggests,” she said.

While these rankings were not cited “as gospel truth”, Ms Lim said that it draws attention to the multiple aspects deemed important in assessing a justice system.

“By filing this motion, the Workers’ Party is not saying that the system is broken or ineffective. But we believe we should strive to do even better. There is room for improvement in any system,” she stressed.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Singapore detains student for planning attacks on city
AFP

Singapore detains student for planning attacks on city

01/02/2023
Hundreds of Myanmar anti-junta protesters rally in Bangkok
AFP

Hundreds of Myanmar anti-junta protesters rally in Bangkok

01/02/2023
AFP

6.0-magnitude quake rocks southern Philippines: USGS

01/02/2023
Myanmar streets empty in protest on coup anniversary
AFP

Myanmar streets empty in protest on coup anniversary

01/02/2023
MOM says labour market for 2022 improved, but many occupations see decrease in real income
Labour

MOM says labour market for 2022 improved, but many occupations see decrease in real income

01/02/2023
Sengkang Town Council is now directly-managed without a Managing Agent
Politics

Sengkang Town Council is now directly-managed without a Managing Agent

01/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
24 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Singapore detains student for planning attacks on city

Singapore detains student for planning attacks on city

01/02/2023
Hundreds of Myanmar anti-junta protesters rally in Bangkok

Hundreds of Myanmar anti-junta protesters rally in Bangkok

01/02/2023

6.0-magnitude quake rocks southern Philippines: USGS

01/02/2023
Myanmar streets empty in protest on coup anniversary

Myanmar streets empty in protest on coup anniversary

01/02/2023
MOM says labour market for 2022 improved, but many occupations see decrease in real income

MOM says labour market for 2022 improved, but many occupations see decrease in real income

01/02/2023
Sengkang Town Council is now directly-managed without a Managing Agent

Sengkang Town Council is now directly-managed without a Managing Agent

01/02/2023
高庭驳回迪哥达索取警方录供的刑事动议

CEO of D1 Racing sues a woman to claim S$3 million for “emotional trauma” suffered from being friend-zoned

01/02/2023
Thai police chief apologises for Taiwanese celebrity’s alleged extortion case by police officers

Thai police chief apologises for Taiwanese celebrity’s alleged extortion case by police officers

01/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
68

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
59

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

November 2020
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Oct   Dec »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz