Emmanuel Macron urged to sack disabled minister accused of rape - "Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has been urged to sack the newly appointed minister for solidarity and the disabled “as a precaution” after two women accused him of rape. Opposition politicians from the Left have led the calls for the dismissal of Damien Abad... Mr Abad said his disability, a disorder called arthrogryposis that affects all four of his limbs, made it physically impossible for him to commit the acts he was accused of."
Accused = guilty, regardless of facts
Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard denies rape allegations at sex assault trial - "Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard emphatically denied raping two women, one of whom was a teenager at the time, testifying in court Tuesday that both encounters were consensual and "passionate." Taking the stand in his own defence at his sex assault trial, Hoggard, 37, acknowledged that certain acts alleged to have taken place during the two 2016 encounters — including spitting, slapping and calling the complainants "slut" and "whore" — could have happened because they were among his sexual preferences. But he denied touching either of the complainants without their consent, or that the complainants cried or said no during the encounters. He also denied touching the younger complainant, a longtime fan he first met when she was 12, in a sexual way before she turned 16... It's an agreed fact in the case that Hoggard arranged to have each of the complainants meet him at Toronto-area hotels on two separate occasions in the fall of 2016. Prosecutors allege that once at the hotel, Hoggard repeatedly raped the complainants, leaving them bleeding and bruised. Both women have testified they cried and said no during the encounters. The younger complainant also said she tried to resist physically but Hoggard pinned her down. In his testimony Tuesday, Hoggard recalled enjoying the attention he received after the band rose to fame in 2004, noting it became much easier for him to meet women. One-night stands became commonplace while touring, even when he was in a relationship, the singer said, adding he built up a significant roster of sexual partners in various cities. It was "difficult" to be faithful and easier to "just enjoy the attention," he said. It would be fairly common for him to arrange transportation through a travel agent to bring women to his hotel while on tour"
Apparently the complainants just wanted to go to his hotel room for coffee
Former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard found guilty of sexually assaulting Ottawa woman - "Hoggard testified he was confident both complainants consented to their sexual encounters, but he couldn't say how they expressed that consent and had no detailed memories of what happened. The Ottawa woman told the court she agreed to meet Hoggard in Toronto to have sex on Nov. 22, 2016. But instead of having consensual sex, she was raped anally, vaginally and orally, and at one point dragged by the legs into the bathroom, she told the court. Both complainants testified Hoggard spit in their mouths, slapped them and called them derogatory names. The Ottawa woman testified Hoggard choked her so hard she feared for her life. In his testimony, the musician told the court that he had consensual, "passionate" sex with each of the complainants. He acknowledged some of the acts the women described — including spitting, slapping and calling them profane names — may have happened because they were part of his sexual repertoire."
For rough sex and consensual non consent, it would be safe to have some form of documented consent (e.g. Jian Ghomeshi - but feminists were upset about that too)
How Concerning Are the Trump Administration’s New Title IX Regulations? | The New Yorker - "Betsy DeVos’s Department of Education issued its regulations on Title IX, which impose new legal requirements on how schools must conduct their discipline processes for sexual harassment and assault. Immediately, prominent civil-rights attorneys expressed outrage... It was unclear, however, precisely what aspects of the regulations were so extreme and alarming. Uncharacteristically for the Trump Administration, the Education Department, in crafting the regulations, engaged with a large range of public comments and concerns—from schools, advocates for survivors, and advocates of due process—and the regulations reflect that engagement. They are not exactly as I would wish, but they clarify the rights of both victims and the accused in a way that is likely to lead to improvements in basic fairness. The suggestion that even the most controversial provisions of the regulations allow rape with impunity speaks to a disturbingly large gap between reality and rhetoric on the topic—one that is particularly important to address, so students do not get the false sense that they should not bother to report assaults... some advocates of fair process, among them law professors at Harvard (myself included), the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell, raised concerns that the pressure to protect victims had led to an overcorrection: accused students were facing expulsion or suspension without fair procedures to defend against disciplinary charges. In many cases, accused students were not being given the complaint or identities of witnesses, and not being shown the evidence or the investigative report. Since 2011, hundreds of accused students have sued their schools for using unfair disciplinary procedures, and have won court judgments or received settlements. Courts have held that, just as it is sex discrimination under Title IX for schools to treat female victims of sexual assault unfairly, it can also be sex discrimination under Title IX to treat males accused of sexual misconduct unfairly... schools must employ a presumption of innocence, on which the Obama-era guidance was silent. Many schools have adopted the principle that they “start by believing” the alleged victim... In the years since DeVos’s rule-making process began, multiple federal and state courts have held that universities must allow cross-examination in disciplinary cases for sexual misconduct as a matter of either constitutional due process or contractual basic fairness, particularly because decisions often hinge on evaluations of credibility. The Obama-era guidance specifically discouraged allowing parties to personally cross-examine each other, out of concern that “allowing an alleged perpetrator to question an alleged victim directly may be traumatic or intimidating.”... Predictably, reactions to the Title IX rule-making have split across partisan lines"
Title IX and Campus Sexual Assault - "In an article published in the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, the University of Nevada’s Deborah Davis and University of California, Irvine’s Elizabeth F. Loftus write that Title IX investigators who conduct “trauma focused” or “trauma informed” interviews and investigations may inadvertently inflect a presumption of guilt into the complaint process. Davis and Loftus argue that the Obama Administration’s focus on trauma created “incorrect and unstated assumptions” about the reliability of complainants’ memories and the reality of their claims for investigations. These assumptions, they claim, “can mislead judgments” in grievance procedures and inappropriately favor the individual who filed a Title IX complaint."
Biden administration proposes overhaul to campus sexual assault rules, replacing Trump-era changes - "The Biden administration proposed a dramatic overhaul of campus sexual assault rules on Thursday, acting to expand protections for LGBTQ students, bolster the rights of victims and widen colleges' responsibilities in addressing sexual misconduct... For the first time, the rules would formally protect LGBTQ students under Title IX... DeVos' rules dramatically reshaped the way colleges handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, with an emphasis on ensuring the constitutional due process rights of the accused."
Due process and constitutional rights are bad for the progressive agenda
Woman imported sausages to sell on Facebook and threatened to shout 'molest' during investigation, gets jail - "A woman illegally imported 36kg of sausages, meat and duck eggs from China, intending to sell them on Facebook. When caught and asked to give a statement to a Singapore Food Agency (SFA) officer, she threatened to shout "molest", knowing it would injure his reputation"
Jail, caning for 2 assailants who attacked man over unproven rape allegation - "Two friends, who were out on bail, brutally attacked a man with a knife, a baton and a knuckleduster after the wife of one of the assailants accused the victim of raping her. The attack was so vicious that the knuckleduster tore a chunk of flesh from the 29-year-old victim's head... District Judge Eddy Tham said that the rape allegation was unproven, adding: "(There is) no room for vigilante justice here." The woman's husband, Andre Chen Si'En, 32, was sentenced to eight years' jail with nine strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to two assault charges and one count of drug consumption. The other assailant, Gervan Wong Jun Heng, 27, pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including assault, drug abuse and traffic offences."
Two men charged with grievously injuring man with metal baton, knuckleduster at Chua Chu Kang Cemetery - "Douglas Wong Wei Hao... Court documents showed that they allegedly struck him on his head and body, leaving him with a fractured hand, puncture wounds and lacerations on his legs, multiple abrasions on his arms and legs, and lacerations on his forehead and head... Gervan Wong already faces 24 other charges, two of which are violence-related."
Perplexingly, in Singapore, Consent is Possible Even If You’re Drunk - "a former Grab driver, Mr Tan Yew Sin, was acquitted of all charges of attempted rape, sexual assault, and outrage of modesty against a female passenger in 2018. In his ruling, High Court judge Pang Khang Chau found the sexual acts with the woman were consensual after finding that the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman lacked the capacity to consent to the sexual acts. Despite being acquitted in the eyes of the law, when combing through the events that night, one cannot help but feel dissatisfied with the outcome. Beyond the issue of consent, perhaps a different question to ask would be if men can be counted on to make rational, moral decisions under the duress of carnal gratification. After all, sexual encounters are an agreement between two consenting parties. The responsibility lies equally between the two parties to decide whether they would both like to engage in any kind of sexual activity... Justice Pang notes that the victim repeatedly rejected a friend’s offer to drive her home from the bar where she had been drinking, reassuring her friend that she was okay. The woman testified that she did this to avoid worrying her friend. To this, Justice Pang said it demonstrated her ability to look beyond her immediate needs and consider how her friend felt. Later, after the car reached her condominium, the woman told Tan she was not ready to leave. She was searching for her wallet to pay the driver then, and this showed her awareness of the circumstances under which she would be ready to leave the car, said the judge. After the woman failed to access her residence, Tan asked her if she was okay, and she said she was. She testified that she responded in this way because she did not know Tan and did not want to say much. This also demonstrated awareness of her surroundings and the differences in sharing personal information with different people, said Justice Pang. In the car, she was emotional, thumping herself on the chest with her fist and banging her head on the window, but would stop each time Tan urged her to stop. This showed an awareness of what Tan was saying to her, and her decision to accept his suggestion, continued the judge. At the end of the sexual acts, the girl started saying “no” and pushing Tan’s hands away. She later agreed that this demonstrated her ability to express that she did not want to be touched. This showed her awareness of what was happening and her ability to give or refuse consent, said Justice Pang. After the sexual acts, Tan asked the girl if she was okay, to which she replied yes and asked him to continue driving. According to the judge, this showed her ability to assess whether she wanted to leave or remain in the car with Tan even after the sexual encounter... he could have refused her advances at every turn. Yet, he did not... His actions point to the intrinsic male privilege that paved the way for him to disregard the woman’s state of mind and allow the burden of consent to rest entirely on her. That night, between the two, one party was sober and in complete control of his decisions and faculty of mind. Yet, it’s the inebriated individual that was made to take responsibility for her actions, what she said, and what she may have suggested while intoxicated."
The police better stake out all nightlife spots, since everyone is sexually assaulting and/or raping each other there
Apparently women can be counted on to make rational, moral decisions under the duress of carnal gratification. Because men are evil
Consent means that if men don't reject women's advances, they can be guilty of sexual assault. Women never have agency and are always victims
Auxiliary cop made plans to have sex with male colleague then falsely accused him of rape - "An auxiliary policewoman, who initiated an intimate chat with her male colleague and made plans to have sex with him, later made a police report to falsely accuse him of rape. The truth emerged when the authorities found out about the chat and plans after they checked her mobile phone. Court documents did not disclose if the pair had consensual sex. When confronted, she claimed that she made the police report after seeing a doctor for a urinary tract infection (UTI)"
Amaury Brelet on Twitter - "🔴 C'est énorme. Une jeune femme invente une histoire de viol en gare de Quimper et accuse un homme caucasien. Sauf que l’ADN retrouvé dans sa culotte est celui d’un homme d’origine africaine, un clandestin sous OQTF rencontré sur une application."
OQTF = Obligation de quitter le territoire français
Meme - "Next time you don't believe a rape victim think of your mother, sister, and your daughter
Next time you ask us to believe an accusation without evidence, think of your dad, your brother, and your son"
‘I went downhill’: man falsely accused of rape on becoming a hate figure - "When 18-year-old Jordan Trengove agreed to go on a night out with Eleanor Williams in 2019 he had no idea that accepting her invitation would not just land him in jail but make him the enemy of a global anti-grooming movement with its own line of merchandise... Trengove spent his 19th birthday in prison, serving 10 weeks on remand before police realised the evidence against him didn’t stack up. The girl Trengove actually had sex with on 9 March gave police a selfie she had taken in the back of the police van, while suspicion grew that far from being a particularly unlucky victim of multiple rapes, Eleanor Williams was in fact a fantasist making one false allegation after the other with the help of social media. Not only did she create fake profiles to frame Trengove and some of her other victims, she started up explicit conversations with innocent men – on Tinder, Snapchat or the intimate photo sharing site OnlyFans, where she had an account – and renamed them in her phone so that it looked as though their penis photos and propositions were coming from those she falsely accused. Out of jail, Trengove was a free man but an outcast in Barrow. “I was barred from everywhere. I was called a rapist, a nonce.” Within a few months he moved away. “I thought it would end but the first day we moved in I had someone shout rapist at me. It was clear then that no matter where I went, someone would always know.” Things calmed down and then on 20 May 2020 Williams posted the fatal Facebook page alleging that she had been trafficked and exploited by an Asian grooming gang. She didn’t name Trengove, but his name soon became linked with the case, regardless of his skin colour, as more than 100,000 people joined the Justice For Ellie Facebook page and bought elephant-themed wristbands, keyrings and bumper stickers to express solidarity. A rally was organised where convoys of cars drove from Barrow to the town where Trengove now lives, flying Justice for Ellie banners. He tried to tell protesters the truth but no one would listen. “I went downhill,” he said. “I tried killing myself over it. I tried running away from it all. I tried ending my relationship, walking away from my family. “The amount of problems put on my life just from one [Facebook] post is ridiculous. Because I’m autistic, it’s even harder. I got diagnosed with complex PTSD because of it all."
Rape culture means that men who rape are demonised. White straight cis men are the most privileged in society, which is why false rape claims made against them are never believed
109 women prosecuted for false rape claims in five years, say campaigners - "At least 109 women have been prosecuted in the last five years for making false rape allegations in the UK, according to campaigners who are calling for an end to what they claim is the aggressive pursuit of such cases. On Tuesday, the charity Women Against Rape (War) is taking its campaign to the House of Commons, where some of those who have been jailed for lying about rape allegations will speak out against their treatment by the authorities... A US law professor, who will be speaking at the Commons, said the UK’s stance on false allegations is more aggressive than in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. Prof Lisa Avalos, of the University of Arkansas, said false allegations in the US were dealt with as a misdemeanour offence, not a felony – and most women were not jailed if found guilty. “In the course of my research I have not found any country that pursues these cases against women rape complainants in the way the UK does. The UK has an unusual approach and I think their approach violates human rights”... But Prof Claire Ferguson, a forensic criminologist from the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, said it was not the norm to prosecute women for false allegations and that only those in the most egregious cases were charged, often where the accused man had spent time in custody. “There have been cases in Australia where people have been accused, then nothing ever happens to the accuser, even though the police believe the report is indeed false. “This can be hugely problematic and has led to many personal and professional issues for the accused [including suicide], even when the police have proven that they did nothing wrong and are not a sex offender”... The director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, is scheduled to publish a statement on the case of Eleanor de Freitas, a rape complainant who killed herself on the eve of a prosecution for perverting the course of justice."
Clearly no women should be prosecuted for false rape accusations, since that is bad for women, who will be afraid to make false rape accusations. Human rights means that you can make false rape accusations and nothing should happen to you
If someone who makes a false rape accusation kills herself, that shows that we shouldn't prosecute false rape accusations. But if someone who is accused of rape kills himself, that shows that he was guilty and we need to prosecute rapists more strenuously
False memories of sexual abuse lead to terrible miscarriages of justice - "Many of those working in our legal system have such a poor understanding of the nature of human memory that miscarriages of justice are an almost inevitable consequence, according to a book published today by the British False Memory Society. Miscarriage of Memory, edited by William Burgoyne, Norman Brand, Madeline Greenhalgh and Donna Kelly, presents factual accounts of prosecutions in the UK that were based entirely upon memories of sexual abuse recovered during therapy in the absence of any supporting evidence. Typically such cases occur when a vulnerable individual seeks help from a psychotherapist for a commonly occurring psychological problem such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and so on. At this stage, the client has no conscious memories of ever being the victim of childhood sexual abuse and is likely to firmly reject any suggestion of such abuse. To a particular sort of well-meaning psychotherapist, however, such denial is itself evidence that the abuse really did occur. Despite strong criticism from experimental psychologists, many psychotherapists still accept the Freudian notion of repression... On the evidence of a huge amount of well-controlled research, we can now be confident that these memory recovery techniques are highly likely to give rise to false memories – apparent memories for events that never took place. The memories can be detailed and extremely bizarre, involving ritualised Satanic abuse, gross acts of sexual perversion, cannibalism, human and animal sacrifice, and so on. But they may be nothing more than fleeting images. Indeed, some patients never manage to recover explicit "memories" of abuse but are convinced that such abuse must have occurred because their therapist, who is perceived as an authority figure, tells them that it is the only explanation for their unhappiness. Whether the patient "recovers" explicit memories or not, the end result will be a family torn apart, with all the heartache, confusion and lasting emotional damage that entails... many hundreds of people have been wrongfully convicted in the UK because juries and those involved in the legal system relied upon "common sense" in considering issues relating to memory. Several thousand case histories have been referred to the British False Memory Society and at least 672 of these are known to have involved the police or higher legal authorities. It is imperative that those working in the legal system are familiar, at least in general terms, with the way that memory works. Experimental psychologists, following the initial controversy over the veracity of recovered memories back in the 1980s, have developed several reliable techniques to study factors that influence the formation and maintenance of false memories. The studies have proved beyond doubt that false memories can be produced quite readily in susceptible individuals. Of course, false memories do not only arise in the context of sexual abuse allegations... Another dramatic case further illustrates the way in which witnesses can sometimes confuse the source of their memories, with potentially catastrophic results. Donald Thomson, an Australian psychologist, was bewildered when the police informed him that he was a suspect in a rape case, his description matching almost exactly that provided by the victim. Fortunately for Thomson, he had a watertight alibi. At the time of the rape, he was taking part in a live TV interview – ironically, on the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. It turned out that the victim had been watching Thomson on TV just before the rape occurred and had confused her memory of him with that of the rapist. Well-controlled experiments have also shown conclusively that memory can become contaminated when co-witnesses discuss their recall of events, a phenomenon known as "memory conformity""
Damn Lived Experience and Gaslighting!
NY agrees to pay $5.5M to man exonerated in Alice Sebold’s rape - "New York state has agreed to pay $5.5 million to a man who was exonerated after spending 16 years in prison for the rape of award-winning novelist Alice Sebold when she was a student at Syracuse University in 1981... Anthony Broadwater, 62, sued the state for damages after his conviction was overturned by a judge in November 2021 — nearly 22 years following his release from prison in 1999... Seabold – renowned for writing 2002 novel “The Lovely Bones,” which was made into a movie – wrote the 1999 memoir “Lucky” about her experience being raped. The memoir led a review of the murder case. The judge overturned Broadwater’s conviction because of flaws in the prosecution case – and Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick apologized to Broadwater at the time of his exoneration... Broadwater was ultimately convicted when Sebold identified him in the courtroom during her testimony. And an expert testified that a microscopic hair linked him to the assault. The type of hair analysis is now regarded as junk science by the US Department of Justice. “Lucky,” Sebold’s memoir describing the rape, was slated to be turned into a movie by Netflix but the project was canceled after the conviction was overturned... Tim Mucciante was one of the producers slated for the movie but backed out of the project and hired a private investigator to look into Broadwater’s case after he found discrepancies between the memoir and the movie script."
Believe Women! Trust Lived Experience! Don't Gaslight Women!
Renson Seow - "Hopefully the terror he felt at being the target of a false rape accusation has made him realise just how wrong he was in the past to support bare allegations of sexual misconduct without evidence. And yeah, I bet his accuser wasn't charged too even though video evidence showed that the allegation was completely false. Instead, Dee Kosh ended up being charged instead for the video that saved him. Maybe now he'll realise just how stacked the deck is against men who are falsely accused."
Veteran athletics coach acquitted of molesting athlete in 2013 after appeal - "A veteran athletics coach who was sentenced to 21 months’ jail in 2020 for molesting an athlete in 2013 has been acquitted of both charges after appealing to the High Court. Mr Loh Siang Piow, 79, also known as Mr Loh Chan Pew, was acquitted of two charges of using criminal force on the then-18-year-old woman at Tampines Stadium to outrage her modesty... Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The alleged victim, named only as Ms C, was the sole witness in the case and her testimony had to be unusually convincing to secure a conviction. Justice Hoo said there were “serious doubts as to the veracity of Ms C’s allegations”... According to Ms C, Mr Loh molested her under the guise of giving her massages after their individual training sessions on Feb 24 and Mar 15 in 2013. Justice Hoo pointed out that at that time, there was a prevalent practice in the athletics community for coaches to give trainees massages after intensive training. She said that Ms C’s messages contain inconsistencies with her version in court about the events. She had also “exaggerated” aspects of the events. “Even in court, her account of where she was touched has been unclear, and her account that she allegedly experienced an involuntary orgasm from the violation of her body seemed to be an embellishment,” said Justice Hoo. She also pointed to Ms C’s seemingly “jovial mood” hours after allegedly being molested. Ms C had also shifted positions on the date of the second offence at trial and was unable to recall material details or even where she had been touched... Ms C lodged the police report in June 2016, after reading a newspaper report about a coach being accused of molest. Thinking the offender could be Mr Loh, she decided to lodge the police report because she was worried that other new trainees might suffer her plight while training under Mr Loh. However, the newspaper report concerned a different coach. “What I find troubling is that Ms C’s communications with (another party) at that time revealed some strongly worded condemnation of sexual offenders in general”... She said that if Ms C had misunderstood Mr Loh’s conduct in 2013, there is the distinct possibility that over the three years, this misunderstanding might have deepened, especially after more conversations with other people. “Unfortunately, I could not discount the possibility that there was a build-up of mistrust towards Mr Loh over the three years. Precipitated by the newspaper report, and coupled with her strong sentiments against sexual offenders, the complaint was eventually made in 2016,” said Justice Hoo."
Veteran coach cleared of all molestation charges - "The prosecution applied to withdraw the remaining charges against him relating to a second accuser, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offences between 2011 and 2012... Justice Hoo noted that Ms C’s account of the first incident lacked specific details on the training session and that she was not entirely clear where she was touched. Ms C said her father accompanied her to a training session after she expressed discomfort with Mr Loh’s massages. But this account was not supported by either parent. The judge said Ms C exaggerated aspects of the events and embellished her account to present a more persuasive case against Mr Loh. However, Justice Hoo said she did not think Ms C had any malicious intention to frame Mr Loh."
RIP life savings. And another false accusation goes unpunished (and isn't counted as one, so feminists can continue to pretend they are rare)
Commentary: Time to reconsider if accused persons should be named before conviction - "An accused person may very well be innocent of whatever he has been accused of, yet the moment he is charged, he is subject to a barrage of speculation and censure. Even if his name is eventually cleared, the damage will already have been done. This is inconsistent with a fundamental principle of our justice system, that one is presumed innocent until and unless that one is found guilty by a court of law. Yet, accused persons commonly suffer negative consequences even before they have had a chance to mount their defence, let alone have judgment rendered. They may be ostracised, lose their jobs, and suffer from extreme anxiety. The law should not turn a blind eye to these real and serious, though non-legal, consequences. Our criminal justice system protects not just victims and society in general. The safeguarding of the rights of the accused person is also a key requirement of justice. The issue is not whether offenders should be publicly named — they should — the question is when they should be publicly named. A better way to balance the rights of the accused person and the interests of open justice would be to prohibit the publication of the accused’s name, until he is convicted and has exhausted his avenues of appeal. This would prevent unwarranted censure of people who are eventually acquitted... In Switzerland, accused persons may be granted anonymity if the Court is satisfied that they could be exposed to serious danger or other serious prejudice. In New Zealand and Australia, where there are jury trials, the Court may prohibit disclosure of an accused person’s identity if disclosure could create a serious risk of prejudice to a fair trial... there is a high risk of public bias towards accused persons. One of my students once wrote in an assignment that, prior to her law school experience, she had always assumed that an accused person would be guilty, since they would not have been charged without good reason. Singapore is a victim of its own success in this regard. Trust in law enforcement and public institutions is very high: For example, in the 2022 World Justice Project report, Singapore was rated 0.83/1 in terms of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system and 0.77/1 in terms of impartiality. One solution to this problem is obviously better public education about the presumption of innocence, but it is unrealistic to expect that this will get through to everyone. The problem also needs to be mitigated by more pragmatic solutions, such as simply not disclosing the name of the accused. Second, there is a growing interest in criminal cases. For example, the high-profile acquittals of Ms Parti Liyani and Dr Yeo Sow Nam generated a lot of public discussion. Ms Parti Liyani was acquitted of theft in 2020, and Dr Yeo was acquitted of outrage of modesty in 2021. In both cases, the accused persons suffered several years of stigma and anxiety before their eventual acquittals. The effects are not just confined to the accused person: Dr Yeo’s family also suffered humiliation and hurt from seeing their father’s name dragged through the mud. The growth of online news sources has made it such that members of the public need no longer attend trials in person or rely on reliable news sources... The principle of open justice is designed to facilitate just that, justice, not to provide fodder for the rumour mill... Third, there is a growing risk of online vigilantism. In the age of cancel culture, it is all too easy to get people riled up about alleged wrongs. In some cases, this can go beyond mere outrage and evolve into abusive behaviour. For example, in 2016, freelance dog trainer Mark Lin You Cheng began a campaign of online harassment against Ms Soon Kim Choo after incorrectly alleging that she had been involved in a hit and run with a dog near an animal shelter. Ms Soon received phone calls and messages harassing her over the incident even though she was not the driver involved. Online vigilantism could be corrosive to respect for public institutions, including the courts and the Public Prosecutor... protecting the identity of the accused person prior to conviction does not offend against the principle of open justice."
MPs call for protection of those falsely accused of sexual crimes - "Nominated MP Raj Joshua Thomas called for a study on whether or not the identities of those accused of sexual crimes should be published before they are convicted and have exhausted all avenues of appeal. He cited the cases of Dr Yeo Sow Nam, who was given a discharge last month amounting to an acquittal for four counts of outraging a woman's modesty after his accuser admitted she had lied in court, as well as Mr Ong Mingwee, who was initially convicted of rape before being acquitted on appeal in 2012."
