P9 Internet And Sex Predators

.:P9:. Internet & Sex Predators Faith Huang Velugopal Salini Amanda Pang Christina Lim Jobina Tan

Sexual Grooming

One-Eyed Bandit Law

Internet & Statistics Internet is a

powerful, pervasive medium that allow access to the world with just a click.

Current

cyber laws are vague - can become very complicated as it’s harder to monitor specific action especially in chat rooms.

Internet & Statistics

3,104,900 people in Singapore have Internet Access. (67.4% Internet penetration as at Nov’08, per ITU) research, entertainment and communication i.e keep or make more friends

Using Internet for

Internet & Statistics

124 reported cases of females who become victim to sex crimes after meeting their abusers online.

Btw 2001 and 2006, there were

80 of them are under 16 years old (Sample size :1,400 sec 1-3 students)

Before the grooming law was passed…

Stay Tuned.

What is Sexual Grooming Bill? The Bill is passed on

17 September 2007.

A new section (section 376E – Sexual grooming of minor under 16) was introduced

offence to meet or travel to meet a minor under 16 years of age after sexual grooming.

to make it an

Grooming Bill

meeting/communication (which can take place in or outside Singapore) on at least 2 occasions as an indication of the offender’s (at least 21 years of age) intent of grooming the minor for sexual activities. Prior

Grooming Bill

travel to meet or intentionally

Offender must meet the victim in Singapore, with the intent to commit a sexual offence with the minor. The penalty is a

maximum imprisonment term of 3 years, or fine or both.

Advantages

Protect minors in the physical realm prowling

Serves as a warning for Sex predators from the online landscape for prey under the guise of making friends

Strengthen Police's hand in preventing any harm from befalling the victim That law enforcement authorities can now intervene at an earlier stage would be sufficient to send a

chilling effect on would-be sex predators

Case Study 28 Aug 2001 Tay Kim Kuan v Public Prosecutor

The appellant, Tay Kim Kuan (a 45 years old) was being sentenced to

$10,000 maximum fine and 12 months imprisonment for having sexual intercourse with a minor at 15 years old.

Before Sexual Grooming Law

successful prosecution for an attempted sexual offence, it would require the offender to be caught in doing something very close in proximity to the

In order to secure a

sexual offence in question.

After The Sexual Grooming Law

new sexual grooming law, predators will think twice before even trying to communicate with a minor for sexual related motives as authorities have the right to charge him solely on his intentions. With the

At which

point does being friendly with a young girl turn into sexual grooming?

The definition of "sexual grooming - in which an adult establishes

befriends and

emotional control over a child, paving the way for sexual abuse or rape" is also vague. Police report

Police act upon tip-off or the victim must really make a before the Police will investigate.

Can we make that an offence

without the actual act of sex having been committed?

explained just now, this is something that we are looking at because we know that there have been situations when this has happened and the current law does not adequately address the problem.” “As I have

(Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee)

But at which point does this turn into sexual grooming?

innocent person just joking with a minor could be arrested. 'What if the person was just pulling the other person's leg? Online records will not be enough.’

Concerned that an

crime to have been committed, the act must take place and it must take place with a certain intent.

For a

(Mr RS Bajwa, 57, a senior civil and criminal litigation lawyer)

Cannot charge someone because he communicated with a girl twice.

conduct / intentional vs mental ?

An Attempt Provision The new offence is effectively a more detailed ‘attempt’ provision, where the ‘attempted offence’ is the sexual offence that the accused intended to commit upon meeting the minor.

Conduct Requirements In terms of conduct, the new offence requires an accused to either have met or travelled to meet the minor. He must also have either met or communicated with the minor on at least two prior occasions.

Mental Requirements The new offence appears to require the same mental state in that it requires proof that the accused intended to commit a sexual offence with the minor.

Recommendations To have a more

comprehensive and clear set of criteria layout to determine the offence.

How to

insulate our young from encountering sex predators and other undesirable influences?

Public Education

important role to play. They must instill the correct values in our young and promote safe practices online.

Parents, schools and the community also have an

Industry Regulation Media development authority (MDA) Parents Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) National Internet Advisory Council (NIAC) Singapore Infocomm Technology Federations (SiTF) Local internet service providers (ISPs) Internet Industry Association of Singapore

Sexual Grooming Law is not clearly defined to stop the rise of internet sex predators in the short-run. The current

References http://www.parliament.gov.sg/reports/public/hansard/title/20071022/20071022_S0004_T0007.html http://magnezium.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-sexual-grooming-law.html http://www.parliament.gov.sg/reports/public/hansard/title/20071023/20071023_S0003_T0002.html http://amumsworstnightmare.blogspot.com/2007/12/just-what-is-sexual-grooming.html http://projectrgb.wordpress.com/category/youth-cybercrimes/ http://www.singaporelawreview.org/2007/12/anti-grooming-law-the-first-step/ http://www.lawnet.com http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm#asia http://iloveit-media.blogspot.com/2008/02/sunday-times-17-feb-2008.html Alfred Choi, PhD Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, NTU &National Crime Prevention Council http://siewkumhong.blogspot.com/search/label/Penal%20Code Interview with Lawyer, Mr Rajan Supramaniam