The following statement was made in this blog post which reported the recent case in where ‘star blogger’ Michelle Quek was allegedly hit on the back with an umbrella by a lady and then punched in the face by the lady’s foreign boyfriend:
“The only reason why I’m posting this video is beacuse she’s a blogger and I think bloggers should stick together.”
Wait a minute! So if she’s not a blogger then it’s alright for us not to stand with her? When did it make a crime more serious than it is simply because the suspect is a foreigner, and the victim is * gasp * a local blogger? Worst yet, should we only be outraged only when a ‘star blogger’ is assaulted? Do I stand back when somebody got punched in the face and kicked on the leg, simply because she’s a nobody? Come on! This doesn’t make any sense at all!!
Anyway, I still gave the incident a closer look. While I did feel some outrage when I heard that a foreigner has attacked a local and her friend, which were both young girls, it appeared to me that this case wasn’t as clear cut as that of Bo Davis and the trishaw uncle.
All we can see in the two video clips, was really just the aftermath, and in my opinion, a display of ‘mob justice’. It was not a video of what happened, and I honestly couldn’t take a stand without hearing the foreigner’s side of the story. In fact, is there anyway to ascertain that we have the full story even when we had listened to both sides? (An excerpt of Michelle’s side of the story can be found here.)
Some might argue that based on the fact that bystanders came to offer assistance to the girls and to detain the foreigner, it would mean the foreigner is definitely at fault. However, can anyone be absolutely certain the bystanders had also witnessed what happened prior to the chase and the foreigner’s violent act? Personally speaking, I suspect that any man who saw his girlfriend getting chased and outnumbered two-to-one would have intervened physically. This is simply what any men worth their salt should do. (But that being said, it does not mean I agree with resorting to violence to achieve that end even though the foreigner might have assumed that his girlfriend was getting bullied.)
So, while I would have normally rant about the foreign talent policy and on how foreigners failed to respect our way of live and our traditions, I find that I couldn’t work myself up to a rage to do it this time. I would normally have condemned any bad-mannered or misbehaving foreigners – be it PRs, new citizens or tourists – but I will refrain from letting my emotions run high in this case.
I would appeal to my fellow bloggers, let’s not use our blogs to influence our readers or to turn it into an avenue of mob justice, in which suspects are condemned without being allowed to adequately defend themselves. Administering justice is the job of the judge and our courts. It would not do well for the reputation of our country if Singaporean bloggers make the world see us as an unreasonable and xenophobic bunch.
It was reported that the police is called and they are investigating into the matter.
It is noted that the blogger brought her version of the whole incident into the blogosphere, before the police can establish any outcome from their investigation. The blogosphere is not a court room.
While we do not know which are the facts or fiction in her account, the blogger should refrain making statements that may hinder the police investigation. As it can be seen, people are forming biased opinions on the incident. But then, at the end of the day, who do we really believe in this incident when there are so many lop-sided information and opinions out there.
cc> Thanks for reminding me that the guy may as well be ‘serani’ and not really a foreigner. I had overlooked that.
xy> There was definitely the attempt to ride on the outrage with regard to Bo Davis’ video. I work in a foreign company where at least half of the users I deal with daily are foreigners. And while there are some bad eggs, they are also some nice guys around. I clearly recalled an instance in which one of the seniors was verbally abusing this local grad who just joined, and I heard his boss shouting across the room, ” LEON!! CONTROL YOURSELF!! ” and another guy turning around and say ” You are a fxxking asshole, Leon. She’s just a girl! ” And the boss is an angmoh himself.
thou shalt not be bothered with bimbo talk & post.
thou shalt laugh at bimbo getting punch in face, for she has offended alot of EDMW ppl.
Note:
i don’t like her and how people conclude that foreigners nowadays are all abusive and rude. it’s the wife’s fault, not his and he’s just doing his part to defend her, in the worst way possible.
everytime i see people talking about this incident, i really 三把火!
The one quoted by you is even more hilarious. So if a blogger go rob bank, we also should stand by him/her?
And, a lot of assumptions are being made. What makes us think that the ang moh isn’t holding a singaporean pink IC?