SINGAPORE – In an unexpected turn of events, the High Court on Tuesday (April 12) cleared a woman of six charges of sexual penetration of a minor after ruling that only a man can be guilty of the offences.

Senior Judge Kan Ting Chiu made the unprecedented decision in the unusual case of Zunika Ahmad, a 39-year-old who is biologically female but has lived as man since she was a teen and had even “married” two women using the bogus identity of an Indonesian man.

The accused pleaded guilty last December to six counts of sexual penetration and one count of child exploitation under the Children and Young Persons Act for sexually abusing an underaged girl who lived in the neighbourhood.

Zunika had admitted penetrating the girl, who was between 13 and 14 years, with external aids.

On Tuesday, Justice Kan said that after hearing her mitigation plea and the prosecution’s submission on sentence, “a doubt whether a woman could be charged with an offence under Section 376A(1)(b) arose in my mind”.

He directed both sides to submit arguments on this issue. Both prosecution and defence submitted that a woman could be charged under the provision.

But Justice Kan concluded that the provision cannot cover women as offenders.

The provision states that “any person (A) who sexually penetrates, with a part of A’s body (other than A’s penis) or anything else”, a person under the age of 16 is guilty of an offence.

Justice Kan said that A cannot be a woman.

“The reference to a person who has a penis cannot be construed to include a woman without doing violence to common sense and anatomy,” he said in grounds of decision.

If a court were to interpret A to include a woman, it would be rewriting the law, he said.

Justice Kan said the “better course” was to leave it to the legislature to amend the provision to make it clear that A includes a woman, if that was indeed the intention.

He rejected the accused’s plea of guilt on the six counts of sexual penetration, set aside the conviction and acquitted her of the charges. As for the remaining charge of sexual exploitation, he sentenced her to eight months’ jail.

Zunika will start serving her sentence in six weeks’ time to settle personal matters.

Her lawyer, Ms N. Sudha Nair, said that her client was very relieved and was very sorry for what she had done. Ms Nair said her client would go for gender reassignment surgery after she is released from prison.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Chambers said: “The prosecution will study the full written Grounds of Decision before deciding on the next appropriate course of action.”

This article was first published on April 12, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – You can now cycle or scoot on the pavements without worry, after the government accepted recommendations from an expert panel’s recommendations on active mobility.

Responding to concerns by Members of Parliament about the panel’s recommendation to allow illegally modified power-assisted bicycles, or e-bikes, on cycling paths and shared paths within speed limits, Mrs Josephine Teo said these e-bikes have to be registered.

The Senior Minister of State for Transport also said authorities will clamp down on reckless cyclists with stiffer penalties.

A dedicated enforcement team will conduct joint-patrols with the Traffic Police at hotspots, Mrs Teo said, while NParks will target errant cyclists in parks and park connectors.

Mrs Teo said that details of most of the changes will be announced and implemented at the end of the year.

These moves are part of the government’s strategy to reduce Singapore’s reliance on cars, she added during the debate on the Transport Ministry’s budget in Parliament today.

To educate the public on these policies, a nationwide Active Mobility campaign will be launched in April, which will be supplemented by a new Cyclist Education Programme in May.

The Cyclist Education Programme will be launched in schools, community centres, and foreign workers’ dormitories, with a focus on safe and considerate cycling.

grongloh@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE – More benefits will soon be given to unwed mothers to reduce the disadvantages that their children face, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-jin said in Parliament on Tuesday (April 12).

These benefits include extending the 16-week Government-paid maternity leave, currently only enjoyed by married mothers, to unwed mothers as well. At present, unwed mothers are only entitled to eight weeks of maternity leave.

In addition, children of unwed mothers will also qualify to get a Child Development Account (CDA), while the $3,000 CDA First Step grant announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in his Budget speech will be extended to them too.

Mr Tan said that the maternity leave benefits will apply to unwed mothers from early next year, as the relevant legislation would need to be amended.

However, children of unwed mothers will be included in the CDA scheme from the third quarter of this year, as the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is currently working on the legislation and system enhancements needed to get it in place.

“These benefits are useful in the child’s developmental or caregiving needs. They also support the unwed parent’s efforts to provide for the child,” Mr Tan said.

Revealing the changes, he added that he was sympathetic to unwed parents who may face difficulties raising their children single-handedly without family support. He also pointed out that some may have become unwed parents by circumstance.

But Mr Tan noted that the extension of these benefits does not undermine parenthood within marriage, which is the prevalent social norm and which his ministry still encouraged.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE – Smoking will be banned in reservoirs and more than 400 parks islandwide from June 1.

Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor made this announcement in Parliament today (April 12), and detailed the prohibited areas:

1) All 17 Reservoirs

2) Five parks under JTC Corporation and in Public Housing Estates

3) 251 neighbourhood parks under NParks within private housing estates

Previously, Singapore Armed Forces camps and bases, and premises owned by the Ministry of Home Affairs had banned smoking voluntarily since 1993 and 1998 respectively.

These places will now be formally included in the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act from June 1, Dr Khor added.

Designated smoking points can be set up in these prohibited places, and the owners of these premises are responsible for their upkeep, The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources said.

Those caught smoking in these newly announced prohibited areas within the first three months from the implementation date will be given a warning. Following the warnings, repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said that it will install “No Smoking” signages in the new premises. Bins with ashtrays in these areas will also be replaced without the ashtrays, while an education drive will be launched to update smokers on these changes.

Dr Khor said that in the long term, the government aims to prohibit smoking in all public places. This will protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

grongloh@sph.com.sg