"Have confidence that judges will do the right thing: Shanmugam on Annie Ee case
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans must have confidence in the court system and not put pressure on judges to impose harsh or lenient sentences, Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Wednesday (Dec 20).
Mr Shanmugam was responding, in a Facebook post, to public backlash on the sentences housewife Tan Hui Zhen and her husband Pua Hak Chuan received for "torturing" intellectually disabled waitress Annie Ee to death.
Tan was jailed 16-and-a-half years, while Pua got 14 years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane for assault.
Many questioned why they were not charged with murder instead, pouring scorn not just on the couple, but also the lawyers defending them.
On Monday, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) issued a statement explaining that as the couple did not intend to cause Ee's death and the injuries they inflicted would not ordinarily cause death, "the offences of murder and culpable homicide (could not) be proved against them".
Singaporeans should "try and avoid putting public pressure on judges to impose harsh or lenient sentences" and to "have confidence that (the) judges will do the right thing", said the minister.
"We have a well-functioning court system."
He also highlighted that the sentence a defendant receives, "in any particular case, must not depend on how the public reacts during the case".
On the criticism directed at defence lawyer Josephus Tan, Mr Shanmugam reminded that a lawyer's duty was to "put forward the strongest possible arguments on behalf of his client in court".
"It (is) a sad day for Singapore if lawyers are going to be hounded in public for standing up in court to argue on behalf of their clients," he said.
"We ought to be a civilised society while expressing our unhappiness and moral outrage ..." he added."
I agreed with Minister Shanmugan on:
1. any aspersions directed at the defence lawyer. No room for that if the system is that everyone gets to defend themselves by qualified lawyers;
2. the judges hv to do their bit as their training n professional judgement deemed fit. Often time, it depends on what charges were brought befire them;
3. the AGC has explained it rationale for the lesser "not a murdur" charge. It is what it is.
What the government n law makers CAN DO is to change the law or introduce a new law whereby syetemtic cruelty n tortures that lead to death be equated with "murder with intent" as it is very probable that starving, humiliating n physical batteries of a human being WILL lead to death!
If I recalled what the judge wrote in the sentencing: Annie died fr not just physical harms but also died broken hearted as her human dignity were depraved by people she trusted n dependent on!!
Can we do that Minister Shanmugan?
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