i understand that our police will only act against the assailant/s if victim/s suffer serious injuries or loss of limb/s. what is the rationale behind this law? what constitutes 'serious injuries'?
a case in point. this letter was in Today yesterday. (notwithstanding that the assailant may be a mental case)
"Bashed up by adult
Letter from Zarina Jaffar
On Sept 24 at about 5.30pm, my 12-year-old son, who had just returned from the library, called to inform me that he would be at the playground behind my block in Woodlands to chat with some friends.
.
Barely half an hour later, I received a call informing me that my son had been beaten up. He had been punched in the nose, jumped on and kicked repeatedly by an adult male of about 30 years of age. My son's three friends had stood there frozen in shock.
.
My husband and I rushed to the scene to find our son lying on the floor with a bloody nose, crying.
.
Other adults in the area just looked the other way. When I tried to find out what had happened, they gestured as if to say, don't bother me. But I understand why they did not want to get involved.
.
While I would like to commend the police for their prompt response to my call, I was disappointed that they couldn't do much.
.
As this is a non-seizable case, the police are not empowered to arrest the man until I lodge a formal complaint to the magistrate.
.
My son said he had seen this man on a few occasions, sometimes talking to himself and, at other times, acting friendly. This seems to suggest that he could be mentally troubled.
.
If the talk among my neighbours is to be believed, my son may not be his first victim. My boy did not provoke him but was attacked out of the blue.
.
From my understanding, the police can take action only when there is serious injury or a loss of life and limb. My boy had a swollen nose and cuts on his head and was given outpatient treatment. This is termed as a "simple injury".
.
I should think that any form of assault, especially unprovoked and involving a young victim, should be covered by the Children and Young Persons Act — no matter how "simple" it is — and the police should have the right to act without a court order.
.
Making our own enquiries, we found out which block and probable floor on which assailant lived. But this information was of no use as the police couldn't do much.
.
My husband is even toying with the idea of giving the assailant as good as our son got.
.
It seems there is a loophole in the law that can be easily exploited. All along, we had believed that any form of assault, however minor, gave the police the power of arrest.
.
I am glad the man did not have a weapon with him at that time or the consequences would have been graver.
.
We find it a hassle to lodge a complaint with the magistrate and are willing to let the matter rest if it is proven that the assailant is, indeed, mentally ill.
.
However, I do hope the authorities will ensure that he seeks medical help. Otherwise, he will continue to be a menace to residents in my neighbourhood."
a case in point. this letter was in Today yesterday. (notwithstanding that the assailant may be a mental case)
"Bashed up by adult
Letter from Zarina Jaffar
On Sept 24 at about 5.30pm, my 12-year-old son, who had just returned from the library, called to inform me that he would be at the playground behind my block in Woodlands to chat with some friends.
.
Barely half an hour later, I received a call informing me that my son had been beaten up. He had been punched in the nose, jumped on and kicked repeatedly by an adult male of about 30 years of age. My son's three friends had stood there frozen in shock.
.
My husband and I rushed to the scene to find our son lying on the floor with a bloody nose, crying.
.
Other adults in the area just looked the other way. When I tried to find out what had happened, they gestured as if to say, don't bother me. But I understand why they did not want to get involved.
.
While I would like to commend the police for their prompt response to my call, I was disappointed that they couldn't do much.
.
As this is a non-seizable case, the police are not empowered to arrest the man until I lodge a formal complaint to the magistrate.
.
My son said he had seen this man on a few occasions, sometimes talking to himself and, at other times, acting friendly. This seems to suggest that he could be mentally troubled.
.
If the talk among my neighbours is to be believed, my son may not be his first victim. My boy did not provoke him but was attacked out of the blue.
.
From my understanding, the police can take action only when there is serious injury or a loss of life and limb. My boy had a swollen nose and cuts on his head and was given outpatient treatment. This is termed as a "simple injury".
.
I should think that any form of assault, especially unprovoked and involving a young victim, should be covered by the Children and Young Persons Act — no matter how "simple" it is — and the police should have the right to act without a court order.
.
Making our own enquiries, we found out which block and probable floor on which assailant lived. But this information was of no use as the police couldn't do much.
.
My husband is even toying with the idea of giving the assailant as good as our son got.
.
It seems there is a loophole in the law that can be easily exploited. All along, we had believed that any form of assault, however minor, gave the police the power of arrest.
.
I am glad the man did not have a weapon with him at that time or the consequences would have been graver.
.
We find it a hassle to lodge a complaint with the magistrate and are willing to let the matter rest if it is proven that the assailant is, indeed, mentally ill.
.
However, I do hope the authorities will ensure that he seeks medical help. Otherwise, he will continue to be a menace to residents in my neighbourhood."
is that so....