Minister S Iswaran On Mobile Air Scam S'poreans, Don't Go Too Far

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Source: The Real Singapore

MINISTER S ISWARAN ON MOBILE AIR SCAM: SINGAPOREANS, DON'T GO TOO FAR
Post date: 9 Nov 2014 - 10:03am



Another minister has jumped on the bandwagon over the recent news of the scamming of tourists at the Sim Lim Square.

“We must not let such unethical practices tarnish Singapore’s hard-earned reputation,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs & Trade and Industry S Iswaran said yesterday.

He wrote this on his Facebook yesterday.

“I am glad that many have spoken up against such bad behaviour. Some have even come forward to crowdsource funds to help the victim.

“This shows our good side and what we stand for as Singaporeans.

He also said, “Unfortunately, some have gone too far. Police are looking into reports regarding this Sim Lim Square case, and also a related report on harassment.

“Do exercise restraint and do not take matters into your own hands. Let due process take its course.

Sembawang GRC Member of Parliament Vikram Nair also chimed in on his Facebook yesterday.

Mr Nair also quoted the Channel NewsAsia article in his posting.

The report had said that the “netizen-led campaign against Sim Lim Square shop owner Jover Chew” could result in legal action being taken against these Singaporeans for harassing Mr Chew.

He also said, “I was rather shocked,” echoing what Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said three days ago.

Mr Tan had said, “I'm shocked at the behavior shown.”

Mr Nair also said, “While we might be angry with Jover, I think it is important to look beyond the specific case and see if there are any systemic improvements we can make.

He said that he is “interested in looking into our consumer protection laws.”

This was also suggested by Mr Iswaran, who said, “Government is also studying other measures to protect consumers better.

“This may take some time especially if we need to amend our laws.

Mr Tan had also said, “In some instances, the laws do not provide for particular actions and even if we may not like it, we can't go beyond the remits of the laws. So in these instances, we may have to review it.

However, not all Singaporeans agree with the ministers and MP on their posting.

“CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore) is not doing anything,” a commenter on Mr Iswaran’s posting said.

“CASE has failed its duty.”

“Yes, it’s wrong of the social media to leak out his private information and photos, but in the first place, the government should be the one executing immediate actions. If the government can’t do it, the citizens will do it.

“The netizens have done what CASE and the government couldn’t do, in 3 days,” she said.

She also said, “How the government has been reacting these few days regarding this incident make us feel the government is protecting the gangsters rather than ordinary citizens like us, who (didn’t) do anything wrong.”



Another commenter lashed out at the government: “I would like to think the works of the local law/authorities = 'too little, too late on doing what needs to be done because they are too effective and extremely swift in 'fixing' their political opponents and people with alternative/opposing views'.”



One commenter expressed shock at the Channel NewsAsia report: “I'm surprised the report says Jover can make a police report against "perpetrators" for being emotionally harassed when he has emotionally harassed so many people. So they can make police reports against him too?’



Another said, “Every Singaporean will be watching how the government will be handling this issue. Remember, these retailer scams and bully tactics are not new and it has been going on for many many years (20 over years for me since I was a teenager) operating in places like SLS, Lucky Plaza, Peninsular Plaza etc. It's not until this Vietnamese incident that this has come under the spotlight, thanks to the power of social media and the internet.”



Added another: “If not for the so called harassment I think this Jover joker would have continued with his biz of scamming. I do agree it's not the way to do it but it worked!!”



Looks like the ball is now in the government’s court but for a government which has stayed silent while the scammers have been at it for many years now and for the ministers and MP to only take the higher ground when the issue exploded in the media does not show very well on the responsiveness and responsibility of the government.

End Of Article

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