Daily Lessons from Life 20 May 2013 - Victim of workplace abuse files police report

"Victim of workplace abuse files police report - CNA 20 May 2013 SINGAPORE: Police said a report has been lodged with regard to an incident of physical abuse at the workplace. The report was lodged by the 29-year-old victim. This comes as the incident was filmed and uploaded on video-sharing site YouTube. The video documenting a man hitting another man went viral after it was uploaded on May 18. The original video has now been taken down from YouTube but is still making its rounds online. The video is understood to have been taken by an intern who was working at the office. A Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) spokesperson has confirmed that the intern is a student with the school. SIM said in the interest of the student, it terminated his internship with the company immediately. SIM added the student has been offered assistance. Meanwhile, in a statement released on Monday evening, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said it was notified of the video via email on Monday. MOM said it has been in touch with the intern who recorded the video. The ministry also reminds employers they are expected to treat their employees fairly and with respect. It added that in situations where employees feel threatened, they should report to their supervisor or human resource officer. MOM said if they belong to a union, victims of abuse should seek advice and assistance from their unions. And in the case of physical harm, victims of abuse should report to the police immediately." When I first read about this video on YouTube I thought it must be happening in some other countries. So, it came as a shock when I read this piece of news report that it actually happened in Singapore and a courageous Intern actually took the shots. It is further confirmed, assuming this Police Report is real, that it is REAL!! Lessons for me are: 1. You truly cannot say: 'Never!' No matter how preposterous it may sound like and look like!! It will be interesting to find out what kind of company, what kind of 'supervisor', what kind of employee, and what were the circumstances that led to this outrageous behaviors at work!; 2. regardless of what happened, the fact that the supervisor physically slapped the employee will leave the laws with no choice but to investigate him when a police report is filed so as to determine if there is a case against him or not. Many reasons could lead the supervisor to lost control of his behavior e.g. provocation by the employee, insubordinate and abusive behaviors, totally nut and useless at the tasks being assigned, etc. Still these will not allow the supervisor to become physical. It will also be informative to learn what nationalities and races were involved for analysis purposes; 3. in theory, in a near full employment Singapore, it should be a 'job seekers' market'. So, this alleged abusive behaviors by the employer is truly perplexing. Singaporean bosses are, at least to my knowledge, not the abusive type though some can be a bit crude and uncouth in their mannerism and behaviors. The main reason is: Singapore law is very strict and the executive branch is very firm and strong in making sure that the offenders are dealt with the heaviest punishment allowed. May be there are understandable reasons for such an outburst? May be the employer needs help? :-) One thing is for sure. Singapore is no longer boring if anyone still has doubt with the legalised casinos, breakdown of the public transportation system every now and then, the F1 and the Grid Girls, etc, etc...