There must be a better way to conduct cases involving women who are possibly victims of sexual assault than to put them through unacceptable cross-examination in court, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said in a Facebook post yesterday.

Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, was referring to the conduct of lawyer Edmund Wong Sin Yee, who was reprimanded by a district judge for focusing on the breast size of a molest victim in court.

Mr Shanmugam added links to a number of articles on the case, including The New Paper’s.

He said the lawyer’s “theory was that only attractive women get molested” and added: “They don’t (as far as I know) teach that in law school.”

Strongly criticising the lawyer, he wrote that women who are victims of sexual assault are “seen as fair game in court for cross-examination”.

“Their past, sexual history etc. are looked into, to make the suggestion of looseness and therefore consent.”

He also referred to the case of Brock Turner, a former student of Stanford University in the US, who was given six months’ jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated victim in January last year.

Mr Shanmugam said the hearing put the victim through unacceptable examination. “This happens in many places in the world, with court processes which, in my view, are not sufficiently sensitive to what victims have gone through.

“The counter argument that there could be a frame up, and therefore the allegations should be thoroughly examined, is also true. But there must be a better way to do this.”

He added that he had asked officials earlier this year to consider changes to the way investigations and trials are conducted, when women are the alleged victims.

“And I have asked them to also consult NGOs (non-governmental organisations), others, including organisations seeking to protect women’s interests,” he wrote.

Mr Shanmugam also commented yesterday on Indonesia foiling a terrorist plot to launch a rocket attack on Singapore from Batam.

“This is the nature of things to come… it’s not going to go away,” he told reporters before a community event.

“There are different types of plans being hatched…”

He listed three threats. First, from those based outside, with the means to attack Singapore from beyond its borders.

Second, there are 200 million people coming through Singapore’s borders every year, a risk despite the “great job” done by the immigration authorities.

Third, home-grown radicalised individuals pose a danger. “You can use knives, vehicles, and there are always people who believe that by doing these things, you are serving some higher cause,” he said.

But Singapore has “zero tolerance” for these threats and is constantly working with its regional partners to fight terrorism, he said.

This article was first published on Aug 7, 2016.
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Indonesian police are scouring Batam island for other militants from a little-known terror cell, a day after the arrest of six members including its leader who was planning to fire a rocket into Singapore’s Marina Bay.

National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told The Sunday Times yesterday that police are tracking down “fewer than 10” remaining members of the Katibah GR (Cell GR), which was formed in 2014.

Police had been monitoring the activities of its leader Gigih Rahmat Dewa, 31, since last year, when he and Syria-based Indonesian militant Muhammad Bahrun Naim hatched a plan to fire a missile into Marina Bay, he said. “He had not set his exact target yet; it was still in the planning stage. We are now trying to gather physical evidence of his plan,” the spokesman added.

Indonesian police rounded up the six men, aged 19 to 46, on Friday in early-morning raids for harbouring suspected Uighur militants.

Gigih was also suspected of receiving and channelling funds for radical activities and facilitating Indonesians to travel to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

Mr Boy Rafli said bomb-making materials had been recovered after the arrests. “There were no sophisticated arms confiscated, only bomb-making materials,” he told Reuters.

Read also: Militants ‘looking at various ways to attack Singapore’

The group, who are being held in Batam, will be flown to Jakarta for questioning. A police source told The Sunday Times that one of them was released yesterday due to lack of evidence. Madam Desi Fitrianti told reporters in Batam yesterday that police had released her son, 19-year-old Muhammad Tegar Sucianto. “Police questioned my son about his friends, but clearly he knew nothing,” she said.

In response to this terror threat and the prevailing security situation, police and other agencies in Singapore have been stepping up inland and border security measures, said Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on Friday.

Mr Boy Rafli said vital facilities in Batam were being secured. He added that Indonesian and Singapore police “always communicate and share information”, including on the latest arrest.

Police stated that the men nabbed had said Katibah GR stood for Katibah Gonggong Rebus, or Boiled-Snails Cell. The media had assumed that GR referred to its leader Gigih Rahmat. Boiled sea snails are a popular seafood dish in Batam.

Read also: Singapore was aware of terror cell: Shanmugam

Mr Ansyaad Mbai, former chief of Indonesia’s influential anti-terror agency, said its name is an indication of how militant groups in Indonesia have become splintered and divided, and the members “could care less about being part of a big-named network” such as Jemaah Islamiah. “These groups are fluid and no longer solid like in the past. They are ad hoc and could be formed by a small group of people who share the same ideology and extreme mindset,” he told The Sunday Times.

“They sympathise with Muslims who are oppressed overseas. And whoever has fought there in Syria, whoever is the most brutal or has money, that person is idolised and becomes the leader,” Mr Ansyaad added. “The Indonesian militants now can’t distinguish Jemaah Islamiah from Al-Qaeda or ISIS. To them, these groups are the same.”

This article was first published on August 7, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – It seems animals are not the only attraction you can catch at the Singapore Zoo these days.

Thanks to the launch of Pokemon Go on Saturday (August 6), you may also be able to spot Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle and other Pokemon characters hanging out with the tigers and monkeys at the zoo.

And if you’ve joined the mission to catch em’ all, there are eight Pokemon Gyms and 78 Pokestops at the Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari, and Singapore Zoo, said the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) on Sunday (August 7).

The WRS has even provided maps detailing the locations of all these virtual hotspots at the three wildlife parks on its websites.

Gotta catch ’em all: Pokemon Go now in Singapore

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The Straits Times, Facebook / RSAF, Facebook/SPF, AsiaOne, Capitaland

In a Facebook post, WRS released a list of guidelines called the ‘Pokemon Trainers’ Wildlife Survival Guide’, providing tips for Pokemon trainers to stay safe as they go on their hunt. These tips include reminders to stay out of animal enclosures, and to be mindful of animals which are easily frightened or startled.

WRS also hinted that there would be more exciting announcements to come, saying that it was “looking to offer special Pokemon experiences in the four wildlife parks, and details will soon be announced”.

ljessica@sph.com.sg

Even local celebrities were not spared from Pokemon Go fever when the much-awaited game was launched here yesterday.

Radio DJs Andre Hoeden, Glenn Ong and Vernetta Lopez, actors Andie Chen and Ian Fang as well as local singer and former Caracal frontman K C Meals were among hundreds of excited budding Pokemon trainers.

Hoeden, 41, and Chen, 31, both fathers of young children, debunked the misconception that the craze is just for the young.

Hoeden, the executive producer of ONE FM’s #1 Breakfast Show, told The New Paper on Sunday: “I caught my first Pokemon at the airport when I was fetching my mother-in-law. The game is pretty addictive but so much fun.”

The father of three, who has been hunting for Pokemon in between errands, added: “My daughter and elder son, aged seven and four, have been suspicious of me constantly being on my phone. But I ‘bluffed’ them. Usually, it’s me trying to get them off the phone when they borrow mine.”

Pokemon Go: A beginner’s guide

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The New Paper

LAME

Hoeden, who celebrated his 12th wedding anniversary with his wife yesterday, said with a laugh: “My wife told me she thinks I’m lame.”

Asked if he and his #1 Breakfast Show crew members Glenn Ong, The Flying Dutchman, Shaun Tupaz and Elliott Danker will be playing Pokemon Go while on air, he answered: “Yes, of course. There might even be a competition among us because Glenn seems to have already caught quite a few.”

Hoeden added that he might take some time today to kill two birds with one stone – he plans to take his four-year-old son cycling while he keeps a lookout for lurking Pokemon.

Like Hoeden, Chen, a father to two-month-old Avery and two-year-old Aden, was on the app whenever there were pockets of time in between family errands and caring for a sick Aden yesterday.

Chen, who is married to Taiwan-born actress Kate Pang, said he found out about the game’s launch through a WhatsApp chat comprising his December Rains cast mates.

Gotta catch ’em all: Pokemon Go now in Singapore

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The Straits Times, Facebook / RSAF, Facebook/SPF, AsiaOne, Capitaland

“I’m a pretty hardcore gamer so I know I can get pretty hooked onto something. But I will probably only open the app as and when I have free time,” he said.

Like Hoeden’s wife, Pang, 32, does not think Pokemon Go is a big deal.

Chen said with a laugh: “After I sent her to Bugis earlier, I caught a Pokemon before I drove off. I told her and the reply I got? She thinks it’s ridiculous and that I’m childish.”

Radio DJ Vernetta Lopez, 43, said she is just riding the hype train.

“It’s fun. Maybe I’ll go to the pool later. We’ll see if I find one in the toilet!” she said.

This article was first published on Aug 7, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

Read also:

New to Pokemon Go? 7 locations in Singapore you should know

A beginner’s guide to Pokemon Go