Monica Baey’s case needed to be aired for a call to action

I refer to the letter, “NUS peeping tom case becoming example of ‘trial by social media’, sets ‘dangerous precedent’” (April 24) and beg to disagree with the writer.

It took Miss Monica Baey a lot of courage to raise the matter publicly, after the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the police left her feeling frustrated because the male student looked like he got away with the crime and she had to fend for herself.

This is not a trial by social media — but a call for action.

There has been a significant increase in the number of cases involving outrage of woman’s modesty in recent years, ranging from voyeurism to sexual harassment to molestation.

Victims are usually too embarrassed to report it.

More need to be done to protect victims, instead of the offenders.

From its past orientation camps to Miss Baey’s case, NUS appears to have not done enough in protecting its students from sexual harassment, with

offenders sometimes let off lightly.

I am glad Miss Baey’s experience has pushed the matter to the fore for Education Minister Ong Ye Kung to personally intervene.

And it is only right for the police to justify their action.

An insult of a woman’s modesty is a criminal offence. In letting the offender off with a warning, the police assume that he is unlikely to reoffend among other factors, and that if he does, he will be caught and the next victim will report him.

We all know how difficult it is to catch such offenders and even more difficult for the victims to report it.

Why would other victims want to come forward and report their cases, if the police is going to let the offenders off lightly?

I stand with Miss Baey and the many other silent victims, and hope more will stand with them, too.