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Campus sexual offences, NS death, fake news, among topics to be raised in Parliament

SINGAPORE — It all started on Instagram, as a series of "stories" by a young woman frustrated at a system that had denied her the justice she sought against a voyeur who filmed her in a vulnerable, private moment.

Topics set to dominate the Parliament session on May 6, 2019 include sexual harassment on university campuses, problem gambling, fake news, a National Service training death and criminal law.

Topics set to dominate the Parliament session on May 6, 2019 include sexual harassment on university campuses, problem gambling, fake news, a National Service training death and criminal law.

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SINGAPORE — It all started on Instagram, as a series of "stories" by a young woman frustrated at a system that had denied her the justice she sought against a voyeur who filmed her in a vulnerable, private moment.

Just two weeks on, the issue raised by 23-year-old Monica Baey, of sexual harassment and misconduct on university campuses, has made it all the way to Parliament, with 10 Members of Parliament (MPs) having filed questions on the topic for the sitting next Monday (May 6).

Other heavy topics set to dominate next week’s Parliament session: Problem gambling, fake news, a National Service training death and criminal law.

Monday’s sitting will start with the issue of campus sexual harassment, which became a topic of national discussion after Ms Baey, a National University of Singapore undergraduate, took to social media two weeks ago to express her anger and her opinion that the peeping tom who had filmed her had been let off too lightly.

Her posts quickly went viral and sparked a debate about the safety of students and the disciplinary frameworks put in place to punish sexual offenders on university campuses.

Several Members of Parliament (MPs), including Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Desmond Choo, Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan and non-constituency MP Leon Perera, have asked Education Minister Ong Ye Kung how many cases of sexual misconduct have taken place on campuses here over the past few years.

Others, such as MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling and West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har, want to know what can be done to improve safety on campuses and better support victims of sexual assault and harassment.

Also on Monday, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen is slated to deliver a ministerial statement. A parliamentary order paper stated that this will be on the “findings and follow-up actions on National Service (NS) training death”.

In a previous ministerial statement on recent NS training deaths, which he delivered in Parliament in February, Dr Ng had said that he would be presenting the findings of a Committee of Inquiry (COI) into the death of actor Aloysius Pang, who was killed during reservist training in New Zealand in January.

In that statement, Dr Ng had urged MPs seeking answers to Pang’s death to "wait for the conclusions of the COI, which will be presented in Parliament subsequently".

Parliament is also set to debate a slew of draft laws next week, including the Criminal Law Reform Bill and the Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Bill, both of which aim to keep Singapore’s laws up to date with modern trends and technologies.

The Criminal Law Reform Bill was tabled in February to address growing concerns over the surreptitious recording of people in various states of undress or intimacy — an offence which is not sufficiently covered under existing laws. It aims to criminalise the production, possession and distribution of such voyeuristic recordings.

The Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Bill proposes, among other things, to make it a crime for online vigilantes to “dox” someone — that is, to publish another person’s personal information with the intention to harass, threaten or facilitate violence against them.

But perhaps what will be most keenly watched will be the debate over the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, a set of proposed laws to fight fake news.

Three Nominated MPs — Ms Anthea Ong, Ms Irene Quay and Associate Professor Walter Theseira — have proposed amendments to the Bill, which has been the subject of scrutiny and concern among arts practitioners, civil society activists and some in the legal community.

Following the announcement last month that Singapore’s two casinos will be expanded, eight MPs have filed questions on the issue of casinos, tax revenues from gaming and problem gambling.

Among the concerned are Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng, who asked Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development, to provide an update on problem gambling in Singapore, an assessment on the effectiveness of the social safeguards introduced since the entry of the integrated resorts in 2005 and what new safeguards will be considered going forward.

Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh has asked Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing about whether the increase in tax revenue from the casinos' expansion will be able to support the increased healthcare needs of Singaporeans.

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