Recourse, when hurt is caused
A debate over whether to make offence
sizeable
Ansley Ng
THE number of reports of voluntarily causing hurt has gone up
from 5,500 in 2005 to 8,288 last year but the authorities say
there is no need to make the offence a seizable one where the
police can step in to make an arrest without a warrant.
.
Doing so would tie down police resources
and hamper their services in other areas, said Senior Minister of
State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee..
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim had asked if the
ministry would review the classification of "voluntarily causing
hurt" (VCH), as a non-seizable offence, especially if the victim
sustained injuries that needed treatment.
.
"If I were to scratch Associate Professor
Ho's car, it would be vandalism and seizable. But if I punched him
in a private capacity and his nose bled, it's not seizable," she
told the House.
.
There have been more "violent and stranger" incidents, she said,
citing the case last month in which an American sailor allegedly
attacked a man at a car park in Wheelock Place in an apparent
drunken rampage. The victim, a 36-year-old communications manager,
needed four stitches to his face.
.
"Under the Penal Code currently, you need to be emasculated, to
have bone fractures or be out of action for about 20 days before
grievous hurt is made out," said Ms Lim, a former police
officer.
.
"Are we setting so high a tolerance for violence?" she asked. And
did the significant spike in reported cases not "suggest that
tougher action needs to be taken"?
.
Assoc Prof Ho said aggrieved parties do have recourse, since VCH
covers a wide range of behaviour and different degrees of hurt.
"Cases where hurt is not serious are best resolved without
extensive police involvement," he said.
.
But if one party wishes to pursue the matter, the police will
advise him or her to take out a magistrate's complaint.
.
A magistrate may direct the police to further probe the case, which
was done in about 10 per cent of the reported VCH cases.
.
"In some cases, the victim may suffer injuries which, though
falling short of being grievous as defined by the law, may still
require hospitalisation," he said. "In such cases, the police may
consider initiating action."
.
When asked if the police treated VCH offences against public
officers, such as bus captains and car park attendants,
differently, he said they have every reason to initiate action in
such cases, so as not to "undermine (these people's) ability to
perform their public service".
A debate over whether to make offence sizeable
