Benjamin Lim – Persona non grata?

The name Benjamin Lim is sounding so frightening that no politician deemed it a good thing to talk about it except for Wong Souk Yee of SDP. The politicians on both sides of the divide have been keeping mum for a very very long time. Perhaps it could be due to the Chinese New Year Celebration and it is not a nice thing to talk about Benjamin or anything inauspicious. Maybe after the festivities they would find the stomach to talk about this 14 year old boy that is no longer with us.

Often there were headlines in the media when a cat or a dog was wounded or killed and politicians, including ministers had been seen sharing their compassion for the poor things. Some have visited the injured animals to shower their love for the poor animals to the point that an animal lover was even elected to parliament. There was no report of any politician visiting the parents of Benjamin during their bereavement. Maybe they did not but reported.

Would Benjamin Lim be mentioned in the next parliament sitting? I was waiting for the legal fraternity to say something and finally in came. It was reported that Thio Shen Yi, President of the Law Society, wrote in the latest copy of the Law Society Gazette about the case of Benjamin Lim, lamenting that if the approach towards Benjamin could be ‘less intimidating’ would it make a difference, would Benjamin still be with his parents and enjoying the Chinese New Year, collecting his angpaos, and feasting himself, instead of the last cold bun he had on that dreadful day?

The concern of how Benjamin was handled must be very disturbing to the legal fraternity and it took great guts to have the issue in print in the Law Society Gazette.  Fellow lawyer Shashi Nathan was quoted in the media, ‘ This is a matter that has caesed some concern as to how young offenders may be treated by the police. The next step is to see how things will change going forward.’

Another lawyer Amolat Singh emphasized on the importance of this case appearing in the Law Gazette, ‘The fact that it’s the LawSoc President setting out his message will not be taken lightly or ignored.  It is sure to get the attention that it deserves. We can’t ignore that this has become a burning national issue.’

It may be a national issue but no politician is saying anything about it. Or are they waiting to create an impact by raising it in parliament? It is very brave for the LawSoc President to say something that everyone is avoiding it like a disease. Kudos to Thio Shen Yi.