if u know m women play a big part in degrading women themselves.
I suggest they try to solve this problem first. Place where has sex
tourism and humans trafficking where law enforcement is not stable
, women play a part in undesirable elements responsible..what has
Aware got to say about this?!. I am not against women. But fairness
and equality will put everything into place
Why wasn't woman charged with trafficking in
children?
Letter was published in the Straits Times Forum Section on the 26th
of August, 2005.
I refer to the article “Women Gets Jail For Trying to Smuggle Two
Girls to Paris (ST Aug 23; 2005).
The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) would like
to applaud the efforts of Air France Manager Mr. Chuang Kwong Teng.
His sharpness and alertness saved the two Sri Lankan girls, aged
nine and 10, from a fate that is horrifying just to think about.
Mr. Chuang is a hero for doing his small but very important bit in
stopping the trafficking of women and children across
borders.
We are, however, perplexed as to the way in which Madam Kamala
Sinniah was brought to justice. She was convicted of cheating Mr.
Chuang and of bringing the girls into Singapore under fraudulent
means, and sentenced to a total of 20 weeks in jail. According to
the ST report, she faced a maximum sentence of 11 years and a
fine.
Why was Madam Kamala's crime categorized as smuggling when,
according to the ST report, her role was to hand the children over
to a child trafficker in France? Why was she not charged under the
Women's Charter Section 141(1) or 142, which cover offences related
to the trafficking of women and girls and wouldn't this more
appropriate for the severity of the crime she was found to have
committed?
The trafficking of women and children is an international problem,
and a very grave one. If we are to have any hope of curbing it, a
concerted effort has to be made at an international level, and that
includes us here in Singapore.
If we persist in defining "smuggling" and "trafficking" on our own
terms, we will limit the role we can play in putting an end to the
heinous practice of trafficking women and children. And the case of
the two Sri Lankan girls shows that this is a crime that can take
place, at least in part, in our own backyard.
AWARE believes it is time we as a country, align ourselves with the
international community on our definitions and refine our processes
on this issue of trafficking, especially of children and women. We
must be part of the international effort of enlightened countries
which have stepped forward to mete out deterrent sentences on
traffickers at home and across borders.
Braema Mathi
President, AWARE
