A wave of sex scandals has exposed a dangerous culture of
unaccountability and misogyny within the Singapore Civil Defence
Force.
By Oliver Ward, edited by Francesca Ross
Sex scandals in the Singapore Civil Defence Force are
dragging the reputation of the once-proud emergency response
service through the mud. The latest is the
conviction of a major on two counts of taking up-skirt
videos of a colleague.
SCDF emergency medical services (EMS) calls in 2016
Source: scdf.gov
The SCDF have been the target of several high profile sexual
scandals in recent years
The up-skirt case is by no means a one off. In
September 2016, police were forced to investigate a video
posted online showing a man engaged in sexual acts while
wearing a SCDF uniform. It was allegedly filmed in an SCDF
camp.
In August 2015, a 28 year-old woman who worked with the
defence force as an external contractor was subjected to
unwanted and persistent sexual advances from a married
senior officer. The most high-profile scandal seen so far was that
of Peter
Lim. He was convicted for his role in a sex-for-contracts
scandal that rocked the SCDF to its core.
The SCDF appear tough on sexual harassment but the punishments are
not
The scandals continue because the punishment does not
fit the crime. Lim was sentenced to just six months in prison,
and was
released after three.
Poh Siok Peng, the man who spent two years taking
up-skirt pictures, could receive the maximum penalty
of six weeks in prison. He is far more likely to walk away with
a fine and little or no jail time. Former lieutenant-colonel Goh
Wee Hong was accused of sexual harassment and stalking. He was
completely cleared after compounding the charge for
S$4,000 (US$2,850).
The SCDF needs to set themselves apart and hold themselves to a
higher standard
Muhammid Fahmi Hussaini, an exasperated officer in the
SCDF, took to Facebook to call out the offenders. He pleaded
“I only hope that they become better men than they were before”, he
signed off with “we are a life-saving force and it has to first
begin with us and our men”.
Women have played prominent roles in the service since
the SCDF opened its doors to women in
1996. Female officers are trained to firefight in the same
programmes as men. In 2013, Captain Anne Tan received the Golden
Axe award after placing first out of her 35 peers in the Rota
Commander Course. A female recruit was
named Best Trainee in the SCDF Volunteer Firefighting
Course in 2016.
These women deserve respect. The SCDF needs to look
after its women as much as its men. There must be clear boundaries
and structures that ensure no officer or cadet can behave with
immunity.
The SCDF has bred a culture where servicemen believe they can act
with impunity
The SCDF has a deep-rooted culture of servicemen doing
what they want and believing they will be immune from punishment.
This comes to the surface in cases of unwanted sexual advances on
colleagues, trashing
dormitory rooms, or misappropriating
iPads.
Tackling this requires clear HR chains that can take
reports of inappropriate and offensive behaviour. It is up to the
SCDF to implement this. It cannot be ignored or swept under the
carpet.
Corinna Lim, the executive director of AWARE, believes
there needs to be improved training on what constitutes sexual
harassment. She
argues this sends a message to the perpetrator – that what
they are doing is wrong and they will not get away with it.
Other countries punish sexual harassment much more
severely
Women in the workplace regularly deal with sexual
harassment, a survey by the Association of Women for Action and
Research (AWARE) said. They found that 54% of
women had experienced some form of sexual harassment at work,
with 17% being
harassed by a superior. They found 12% of
women had received threats of termination if they did not do as the
harasser asked.
The SCDF cases show that despite tightening sexual
harassment laws in
2014 the punishments handed out are rarely sufficient.
Anyone found guilty of a sexual harassment offence can receive a
maximum fine of
S$5,000 (US$3,600) and a jail sentence of no more
than six
months.
By comparison, misogyny was deemed a hate
crime in the UK in 2016. Anyone found guilty of sexual
harassment through misogynistic comments can face trial. In the
US, the
employer, rather than the individual is held liable for sexual
harassment in the workplace. If an employee is found guilty, the
employer will have to pay compensation for neglecting to stop
it.
What can the SCDF learn from the SAF?
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) manage to hold
themselves to a higher standard. The military
justice system acts as a rock, underpinning every aspect
of military life, including disciplinary procedures.
Soldiers are court-martialled for misdemeanours and
held to account internally, without the use of civilian courts. The
goal is
to rehabilitate the servicemen and reintegrate them back
into their unit as a better individual and more effective member of
the team.
This ensures the SAF has an impeccable record of
discipline. There are effective disciplinary structures and
procedures in place which provide support for the individual to
make amends and reintegrate.
In contrast, the SCDF has just announced plans
to outsource
their disciplinary procedures to civilian organisations.
The authorities are proposing to use civilian companies to conduct
urine tests and arrest servicemen and women who go absent on leave.
This suggests that discipline is not a priority. It is this
attitude which is ruining the organisation’s record.
There are indicators that the SCDF is ready to reform its working
culture
The SCDF is already stamping out sexually suggestive
dances, known
as daggering, at the force’s annual Carnival. It is not the
image the board wants to portray, they
said.
The defence force’s management needs to deal with the
culture of misogynist and unaccountable actions before these
rampant scandals damage its reputation beyond repair. The problem
is not unique to the SCDF, but we look to the SCDF to be leaders.
Their work may be saving the lives of citizens, but they are doing
a poor job of protecting the rights of their own.