Enact specific laws to punish bullies, govt told

 

Bullies currently have a chance of escaping punishment or getting a light sentence because bullying offences are not specifically mentioned in the Penal Code, says a child rights lawyer.

GEORGE TOWN: A child rights lawyer has called for laws to make bullying a serious crime and to cover a wide range of scenarios.

Speaking at a forum on cyberbullying, Kasthuri Krishnan said bullies currently had a chance of escaping punishment or getting a light sentence because bullying offences are not specifically mentioned in the Penal Code.

Referring to the case of Thivyanaayagi Rajendran, who committed suicide about a year ago, she said: “New laws should also include considerations where someone commits suicide as a result of bullying.”

Thivyaanayagi’s suicide happened after a Facebook user jeered at her for recording a TikTok video of herself singing with a colleague at a convenience store. She was 20.

The Facebook user remains anonymous and a free man.

“We need more awareness campaigns on why laws specific to bullying ought to be enforced,” Kasthuri said.

“It’s time to take bullying seriously. We can’t wait for another person to be affected and only then create new laws.”

She spoke well of Singapore’s strict laws against bullying.

The republic has special courts to handle bullying cases and its laws give a wide range of remedies to flaming, harassment, cyberstalking, denigration, impersonation, trickery and other forms of harassment.

Law lecturer Bahma Sivasubramaniam called for a law to punish cyberbullying and other forms of harassment on social media.

She told the forum the law should be “iron-clad” and not be outdated in the next 10 years.

She called for adoption of the Australian and New Zealand model of handling cyberbullying. The two countries have established agencies to handle complaints on internet use.

Bahma noted that Australia’s eSafety commissioner is free from government interference and allows for the resolution of grievances without the need to go to a civil or criminal court.

She said the commissioner had the power to instruct internet companies, social media platforms and other relevant agencies to remove offending content.

In serious cases, however, the police are roped in and the court system is engaged. - FMT