Update: It's ready! http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-encore-eservices-assault-and.html
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Akan datang: part 2 on the Singapore slapping video
OK, given how this case has developed, I am going to do a part 2 on this story since it has now made the headlines in Singapore with plenty of human drama. So many questions to be asked and for me, this is particularly interesting as I want to show our dear friend Jerard Lee, "watch and learn Jerard, this is how you get $100,000 out of the company". I will compare and contrast the two cases - this part 2 will not be ready for a few days yet because it is an on-going case and also, I am having a really busy week here at work. Boy I thought I was having a hard week at work but compared to this poor 'kena slapped for 3 years' guy, good grief, it's nothing. I had been writing another article on whether a degree is important - but that can wait whilst this is the hottest topic in town.
So over to you readers - do you have any questions on the issue? Is there anything you would like me to cover please? Do you want me to talk about the legal issues involving such a complex case? How about the responsibility of SIM and other tertiary institutions towards interns? Or shall we talk about physical assault and the law - when does it become criminal and when is it a private matter? Most of all - who do you blame for all this? How could this have happened in the first place? Do leave a comment below and let me know, thanks!
Update: It's ready! http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-encore-eservices-assault-and.html
Update: It's ready! http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-encore-eservices-assault-and.html
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am just wondering from the legal perspective, is the accused considered committing a crime under the criminal code? As far as I understand, the victim can launch a civil suit against the accused for assaulting but the latter might not be committing a crime. I am very interested to know.
Regards,
SG Web Reviews (www.sgwebreviews.blogspot.com)
Hello and thanks for your message.
DeleteThere is a grey area here once again which leaves room for manoeuvre actually. There are 2 cases here - one of the straight forward assault which was captured on camera, the other was that of being kept on an intern's pay for 3 years.
One is more straight forward, ie. you cannot hit someone like that and if it is captured on camera, it is grounds for the police to arrest you and it could get very messy for Alan Lee the supervisor.
The other one is far more ... murky. Singapore has no minimum wage law and if the victim agreed to work for very little money, then there's nothing to stop him from doing so. So for example, if you wanted to give your neighbour's kid free tuition and your neighbour paid you with a pandan cake (v cheap price for your services) - that is not illegal per se, that is just a private arrangement. And if all parties are consensual - then there's no illegal case.
However, if there is coercion on the part of the employer (coupled with physical abuse) to compel the victim to accept working under less than favourable terms, then a good lawyer can build a case against the employer and sue them. Then there's an element of bargaining - settle out of court and we will drop the charges of assault. The way I see it, that's their best bet. They will be able to get a tidy sum of money ($100k is too little IMHO, they could've asked for more) and hopefully, that would draw a line under the case. Will the police and MOM continue to pursue them if the victim says, "I have reached an out of court settlement, I will not pursue them?" V hard for the police/MOM to do anything if the victim turns around and says that.
Maybe the public would like to see Alan Lee or the company Encore eServices punished for the way they treated Alan, but in reality, I doubt they wil be punished if they do reach an out of court settlement with the victim. They will probably just change the name of the company in the meantime and reinvent their branding a bit to start with a clean slate after their name is associated with this case.
At least the victim will have some recourse - either he will get the money he demanded or he can go to town with the case and punish his former employers.
Hi
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I guess the intern might actually have a legitimate case as there are legal resolutions for unfair contractual terms. ANyway, I was wondering, the city harvest court hearings are now underway. I am very interested to know if you would be writing other articles on them. Enjoyed your previous articles.
Hi Mag, I am sure there is a legitimate case - but then it really depends what the family of the victim want out of this process. I suspect that they may stand to gain financially if they agree to drop all criminal charges in exchange for a pay-off and Alan Lee and the company Encore eServices probably would prefer that if the figure for the pay-off isn't too big.
DeleteOtherwise, what would they gain if say the courts slaps a big fine on the company and the company pays a lot of money to the GOVERNMENT but not a cent to the victim; what good is that to the victim if they pay a fine? See? So there are many options and the victim's family has to think, what would be the best option for me to get the most out of this vs how do I punish them ...
I will do a follow up on CHC, but I am drowning with my work load here, aaaargh. I do have a job to do and demanding bosses too you know!! :)
So did I...Is it really possible to spend 13 Mio on a song?
DeleteSpending money is easy, earning money is a lot harder!!
DeleteAs an aside, the CHC case reminds me of the Derren James show on "Miracles for Sale". Derren James, carefully treading the line of ethics and respect for other religions, exposes the inner going-ons of a faith healing movement, or a series of them anyway, revealing the various techniques of exploitation within the faith healing movement(something which CHC drew his impetus and strength from, as well as the thrust towards getting people to part with their money, sometimes for dubious reasons). I loved that show.
DeleteYou have mentioned before that if the victim is agreeable to the terms and conditions, there is nothing much the authorities can do as it is strictly a private arrangement or agreement between Employer & Employee.
ReplyDeleteBut not only is this a case of bullying abuse, it is also a case of plain exploitation for not paying the victim his rightful remuneration including benefits like overtime, leave, bonuses. It appears their might be some element of exploitation & dishonesty on the part of Employer in maintaining the victim's appointment as an intern so as to avoid paying him his rightful dues as opposed to one working as a full time employee. But not compensating him overtime for his long hours is simply cheating the employee.
Also leading the employee to believe that the company is part of a bigger group of companies (according to the victim's account) when it is just a S$2 company is just plain dishonest on the part of the Employer no matter how gullible the employee may be in agreeing to continue working for his company based on existing terms.
I honestly think the Employer should be persecuted by the Authorites for breaking the law and sent to jail to send the rightful message that such abuse & exploitation has no place in a developed country like Singapore.
Hi Alan, as for the concept of consent - let's look at the case of battered wives. There are wives who are constantly beaten by their husbands, but unless they are willing to speak up against their husbands in the court of law to bring charges against their husbands, they often help their husbands cover up the abuse.
DeleteNow in this case, we have plenty of evidence from the video to the working conditions of the victim out in the open now - a lot of what happens next is whether or not the victim (well his parents really) will press for the full force of the law through the courts - forcing the police and MOM to react. Right now, MOM has been totally lame in simply reacting by issuing advice (and Jerard Lee thought they would help him, ha!) - you have to realize in the context of Singapore, unless you are willing to take action against such employers, they usually get away with such acts and the onus then lies on the government to protect the workers.
Now MOM, NTUC and the S'pore government have a poor record on that front - who knows, maybe they will use this case to show that this won't be tolerated.
Of course I think Alan Lee should be jailed for 3 years and slapped around the face non-stop for those 3 years - but I don't have any faith in the Singaporean system.
Hi LIFT, the beating, it's a criminal case, right? If it's a criminal case, the state should be the one pressing the charge, no? I do agree that the victim can claim for compensation, or more compensation, if he press charge as a civil case against Alan Lee and/or the company. Let's say the victim went the civil case route, who should the victim bring the case to? Alan Lee, Encore eService, or both? Also, legal fee. Someone have to pay for the legal fee and court proceedings (it's not cheap. Singapore judge earns 7-digit annually, plus the various clerks, legal personnel, paperwork), who will foot the bill?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why the victim endured the beating for so long. I believe this is a point of contention if the victim brings the case to Alan Lee. I doubt it is something as simple as "we do have a culture of physical abuse that is simply accepted as being a part of our Asian tradition."
PS, in Jerard's case, can he retort the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle remark by asking Amit and Patel which one of them wants to be Bebop and which one of them wants to be Rocksteady? (Google "Bebop and Rocksteady" and you will know why. And yes, it's a LOL.)
Hi Chee Ming, yes and no. Well, we don't know yet - the way it works is this, you submit the evidence to the police, they will investigate - they will then decide if there should be charges to be brought against the accused. They haven't made that decision yet - they could, they might, but we don't know if they will yet. But of course, we all want them to and see Alan jailed for a long time. But public opinion doesn't sway the Singaporean police - this is not trail by media, the police will do things their way and we shall see what their decision is.
DeleteAs for civil case, you pay your fees up front and then if you win, you can get the other party to pay for your court costs. If Alan Lee has a good lawyer, he will settle out of court before we even ge to that lah as it is such a clear case of abuse that Alan has little to gain from going in front of a judge - unless the system in Singapore is so corrupt that a Singaporean judge will rule in Alan's favour... then by that token, the big loser is not the victim but all Singaporeans who are told, 'you have no rights to justice in your country'. If it did go down that route, it will most probably be settled out of court - but again, we shall see - Alan Lee has been behaving as if he can do what the hell he wants without caring what the consequences are, will he continue to act like that or will he seek the advice of a good lawyer? Let's watch this space.
So far MOM has only given 'advice' in this case - how bloody useless is MOM? MOM doesn't give a shit lah. And our friend Jerard still thinks MOM will protect him in the Ninja Turtle case? Aiyoh, get real lah.
I think that it is commonly known amongst Singaporeans, former Singaporeans, and even some foreigners too who might or might not have visited Singapore(or lived there before), that the Singapore system thrives on exploitation and abuse of its workers. When politicians like Lim Swee Say, affiliated with an even more ineffectual and non-invisible NTUC, claims that, "Don't you want us [he means the PAP and the PAP-affiliated NTUC] to fight for your rights?", my eyes were rolling about in serious disbelief LOL.......MOM protecting Singaporean workers???!!! Maybe when Singapore changes from head to toe, including the faces of its politicians....
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