Undergrad who tried to strangle ex-girlfriend: PAP Women’s Wing dismayed with sentence

Singapore — On Tuesday (July 21), the People’s Action Party’s Women’s Wing released an official statement on the case of an NUS dentistry student who had attempted to strangle his former girlfriend when she turned down his request to continue the relationship.

The student then pressed his thumb against one of her eyes until it bled.

He pleaded guilty on Feb 21 to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt and another charge of criminal trespass. He was sentenced last Friday to a short detention order for 12 days, 80 hours of community service and a day reporting order for five months.

District Judge Marvin Bay said in an earlier hearing that the student was suitable for community-based sentences because of his “relative youth”, rehabilitative prospects and lack of previous convictions.

The university has released a statement that the student has been suspended and not allowed on to campus.

Since the sentencing, much discontent has surfaced especially on social media. There are two petitions calling for harsher sentencing and penalties for the student. As at Tuesday (July 21), one of the petitions had garnered 13,000 signatures out of the targeted 15,000.

Adding to the heat on social media, the PAP’s Women’s Wing has also expressed its  dismay with the sentence.

The press statement said: “Like many members of the public, we are dismayed that the sentence in this case appears disproportionate to the offence.

“We respect our institutions and judicial system. We also know that there are processes that allow legitimate concerns to be considered.”

It added that it had raised the matter with the Minister for Home Affairs and Law, Mr K Shanmugam.

There is support online for the stance of the Women’s Wing. There has also been a call for MPs to act if they feel that current laws are insufficient.

Two people, referring to the domestic abuse analogy used by the PAP during the recent elections, ask about the Women’s Wing’s position on that.

The full statement of the PAP’s Women’s Wing can be found here. /TISG