Maid abuse.
I saw another depressing case of maid abuse in the papers today. Allegedly this woman Loke Phooi Ling (yeah true she isn't convicted yet, but I still feel it's justifiable to drag her name in mud, try her in the court of public opinion a bit) faces 32 charges of abuse - including rubbing her domestic helper's lips with toilet brushes and steel wool, kicking her genitals and hitting her head against walls.
It's so routine that it's ceased to produce outrage (if it ever did). And these aren't the dregs of Singapore society; her husband was a bank executive. Besides if they were rich enough to afford to hire a maid they can't have been that dumb: the only possibilities I can countenance to explain their behaviour are insanity and inhumanity. In the former case they should be treated, in the latter they should be given a punishment befitting their crime.
And this is why I would like to make the case for maid abusers - even women - to be caned.
The official case against caning women, as far as I'm aware, is that women are especially fragile, specifically their ability to bear children. But this is a humane consideration, and Singapore has historically not given a fig about humane considerations - witness our country's stand on hangings and whippings. So why start now? And anyway, if the female genitals are fragile, how about the males? Us guys are, as House puts it (Season 4), "danglers", after all...
True, some would argue caning is "cruel and unusual punishment" and wrong in any context. I personally would agree with them but since Singapore isn't likely to revise its stand on it I don't see how standing on principles would help. Moreover I think caning is actually comparatively humane compared to what some of their maids had to go through - that's cruel and unusual punishment for you, inflicted through the caprices of twisted (and often female) minds. I'm not suggesting impalement, not even the ducking chair, just plain ol' caning.
Besides, convicts who get caned reportedly have to strip naked (it helps aiming, I guess!), so it works in their favour right? Women caned by women, considerations of modesty? If Singaporean lawmakers are really that soft-hearted they could reduce the number of strokes women are liable to be sentenced to, or specify a lighter kind of cane, or cane them on their thighs or other less sensitive area; but I don't think it's necessary. That would just send out the wrong signals.
Alright, the case for caning. One of the justifications for caning is its ability to get to the most hardened criminals. And these maid abusers are certainly hardened, and very often unrepentant; they perpetrate acts of senseless brutality, they use acid and bleach on their employees, they physically abuse them, often with implements - in other words, torture.
Another of the justifications is the deterrent effect that caning has. This fits the profile of many maid abusers too; certainly these people need deterring, since maid abuse is a prominent fixture in our legal news. It's a systemic vice in our society that needs weeding out. They can cane loan sharks, why can't they cane maid abusers?
Think of it as protecting the victims too. Most maids are heavily indebted to their agents when they reach here; they have very little legal protection, often no social network, and they're clueless about how things work here; they have no power; they're often expected to be subservient, a demeaning practice which says something about the egotistical superiority cult that many Singaporeans feel the need to keep up, just so they can feel secure; and relatively many are abused, some quite shockingly. It's common to see cars being washed at ungodly hours - that in itself is a mild but systematic form of abuse too.
Furthermore, this would extend caning to a huge swathe of the population that's hitherto been exempt: women. To some extent this is reflective of a caveman, male chauvinist attitude in Singapore - women stay at home to clean, cook and sew, never mind work, NS - or caning. But this is an attitude that needs changing; our modern times, our dehumanised natures demand it. Besides, maid abusers are often female - particularly the most vicious ones. You hear of vigorous beatings, slappings, pinchings, disfigurement even; surely if these women are strong enough to inflict these on their maids, they can stand a lashing or 24 of their own?
These maid abusers are some of the most virulent, recalcitrant, heinous villainesses that walk the streets of Singapore. Are we to overlook their twisted, violent nature and deny them the punishment they deserve, just because they walk the streets in high-heels? It seems that fines and jail terms aren't enough to deter them, and certainly death's too good for them. Why spare maid abusers the cane just because they happen to be female?
They've got their rights; time to pay their dues...
It's so routine that it's ceased to produce outrage (if it ever did). And these aren't the dregs of Singapore society; her husband was a bank executive. Besides if they were rich enough to afford to hire a maid they can't have been that dumb: the only possibilities I can countenance to explain their behaviour are insanity and inhumanity. In the former case they should be treated, in the latter they should be given a punishment befitting their crime.
And this is why I would like to make the case for maid abusers - even women - to be caned.
The official case against caning women, as far as I'm aware, is that women are especially fragile, specifically their ability to bear children. But this is a humane consideration, and Singapore has historically not given a fig about humane considerations - witness our country's stand on hangings and whippings. So why start now? And anyway, if the female genitals are fragile, how about the males? Us guys are, as House puts it (Season 4), "danglers", after all...
True, some would argue caning is "cruel and unusual punishment" and wrong in any context. I personally would agree with them but since Singapore isn't likely to revise its stand on it I don't see how standing on principles would help. Moreover I think caning is actually comparatively humane compared to what some of their maids had to go through - that's cruel and unusual punishment for you, inflicted through the caprices of twisted (and often female) minds. I'm not suggesting impalement, not even the ducking chair, just plain ol' caning.
Besides, convicts who get caned reportedly have to strip naked (it helps aiming, I guess!), so it works in their favour right? Women caned by women, considerations of modesty? If Singaporean lawmakers are really that soft-hearted they could reduce the number of strokes women are liable to be sentenced to, or specify a lighter kind of cane, or cane them on their thighs or other less sensitive area; but I don't think it's necessary. That would just send out the wrong signals.
Alright, the case for caning. One of the justifications for caning is its ability to get to the most hardened criminals. And these maid abusers are certainly hardened, and very often unrepentant; they perpetrate acts of senseless brutality, they use acid and bleach on their employees, they physically abuse them, often with implements - in other words, torture.
Another of the justifications is the deterrent effect that caning has. This fits the profile of many maid abusers too; certainly these people need deterring, since maid abuse is a prominent fixture in our legal news. It's a systemic vice in our society that needs weeding out. They can cane loan sharks, why can't they cane maid abusers?
Think of it as protecting the victims too. Most maids are heavily indebted to their agents when they reach here; they have very little legal protection, often no social network, and they're clueless about how things work here; they have no power; they're often expected to be subservient, a demeaning practice which says something about the egotistical superiority cult that many Singaporeans feel the need to keep up, just so they can feel secure; and relatively many are abused, some quite shockingly. It's common to see cars being washed at ungodly hours - that in itself is a mild but systematic form of abuse too.
Furthermore, this would extend caning to a huge swathe of the population that's hitherto been exempt: women. To some extent this is reflective of a caveman, male chauvinist attitude in Singapore - women stay at home to clean, cook and sew, never mind work, NS - or caning. But this is an attitude that needs changing; our modern times, our dehumanised natures demand it. Besides, maid abusers are often female - particularly the most vicious ones. You hear of vigorous beatings, slappings, pinchings, disfigurement even; surely if these women are strong enough to inflict these on their maids, they can stand a lashing or 24 of their own?
These maid abusers are some of the most virulent, recalcitrant, heinous villainesses that walk the streets of Singapore. Are we to overlook their twisted, violent nature and deny them the punishment they deserve, just because they walk the streets in high-heels? It seems that fines and jail terms aren't enough to deter them, and certainly death's too good for them. Why spare maid abusers the cane just because they happen to be female?
They've got their rights; time to pay their dues...
Labels: The Universe
posted by Unknown at
2:39 pm
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