The tragic case of Benjamin Lim: is Singapore’s justice system flawed?
IF the truest test of a society’s integrity is how it protects its most vulnerable members, the death of a 14-year-old following an unaccompanied and unrecorded police “interview” is tragic proof of our abject failure.
Questions abound. Why was Benjamin taken away without the permission of his parents? Did the police overstep their authority and unlawfully detain an innocent individual? Or were they arresting a suspect based on sound evidence? If Benjamin was indeed arrested, why is his interrogation being called an “interview”? What happened during the course of this three-hour interrogation and why was he not allowed to see his mother?
Or in other words, if abuse leads to suicide, the perpetrator’s abuse may be considered a proximate cause of the victim’s death. Therefore, moral and legal culpability apply (subject to other considerations such as intention and foreseeability).
IF the truest test of a society’s integrity is how it protects its most vulnerable members, the death of a 14-year-old following an unaccompanied and unrecorded police “interview” is tragic proof of our abject failure.
Questions abound. Why was Benjamin taken away without the permission of his parents? Did the police overstep their authority and unlawfully detain an innocent individual? Or were they arresting a suspect based on sound evidence? If Benjamin was indeed arrested, why is his interrogation being called an “interview”? What happened during the course of this three-hour interrogation and why was he not allowed to see his mother?
Or in other words, if abuse leads to suicide, the perpetrator’s abuse may be considered a proximate cause of the victim’s death. Therefore, moral and legal culpability apply (subject to other considerations such as intention and foreseeability).
