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Suicides involve complex factors, so don’t jump the gun, says Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — The police’s ongoing review of their procedures when questioning young persons has to balance the need for a robust protocol without hindering investigations, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday (March 1).

SINGAPORE — The police’s ongoing review of their procedures when questioning young persons has to balance the need for a robust protocol without hindering investigations, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday (March 1). 

Speaking in Parliament, he also urged the public against jumping to conclusions on the Benjamin Lim case, as police investigations, and consultations with psychologists and other experts, continue. Suicides often involve complex factors, he noted. 

Nevertheless, he stressed that Benjamin — who was under investigation in an outrage of modesty case — was not mistreated by the police and “currently available” facts could not allow one to pinpoint the teenager’s interview with the police as the specific reason for his suicide. 

On Feb 1, the police had announced that they would review whether to allow an appropriate adult to be present when interviewing young persons.

Mr Shanmugam said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been tasked to conduct the review, which will consider various suggestions raised so far, including video-recording interviews with minors. 

The MHA will hold back on taking any positions on the review until after the Coroner’s Inquiry into Benjamin’s death is over. 

Key stakeholders will also be consulted after the inquiry.

Calling against “knee-jerk reactions”, Mr Shanmugam noted that the police must “move quickly” to investigate and, where necessary, arrest those found to be involved in serious matters. 

Illustrating a possible scenario if there was a lag between the time of an alleged offence and the start of investigations, Mr Shanmugam said: “If the police wait, and he molests someone else in the meantime, then the question would be, ‘Why did the police not move faster?’”

He added that in this case, if the alleged molest victim had been the one who commited suicide instead of Benjamin, the public would have questioned why the police did not act swiftly. 

Mr Shanmugam also cited an instance of how the authorities recently thwarted the plans of a 15-year-old radicalised boy who wanted to go and fight in the Middle East.

He urged the public not to chastise the police officers involved in Benjamin’s case, stressing that the MHA is responsible for ensuring proper protocols are in place, and that he, as the minister, bears ultimate responsibility. “If there are questions about the protocol, I will answer, as I am doing now … The responsibility is mine. 

“Let’s not attack the police officers, who cannot defend themselves. They are doing their job, every day, in difficult circumstances,” Mr Shanmugam said, adding that the officers have acted dutifully in accordance with the present protocol.

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