The National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate student, Monica Baey, who raised her voice against the Peeping Tom incident but was taken lightly by the authorities, has again posted a note on social media stating that the time has come for her to get out of the discussion over "what people think should be done" to her perpetrator, Nicholas Lim. Instead, she said she would take a new role to purify the society.
The 23-year-old student posted the note on her Instagram profile with a title, "Closure ⚠️TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ - Sexual Assault."
She noted that after she posted about the incident on social media and mentioned how the authorities dealt with the situation, NUS reached out to her to acknowledge that the current disciplinary system of the institution, dealing with sexual misconduct cases, is "inadequate, organized a town hall to hear the concerns of the student body."
She also mentioned that NUS is currently in the middle of forming a Review Committee with female and student representatives to make improvements in the existing system.
However, Monica spoke out against those who disagreed with the way she shared the sexual assault story on social media and put the name of the accused under the spotlight. She said many people now believe that the man, who committed the crime, has become a victim.
"To address all those who are saying that my perpetrator is now a victim, all I will say in response to that is I do genuinely hope that he is receiving the proper support he needs to rehabilitate and that the unnecessary online harassment towards him and his loved ones will stop," she said.
The accused, Lim was given a 12-month conditional warning from police and was suspended from NUS for a semester. He also wrote an apology letter to Monica, which she posted on social media.
After the Peeping Tom incident victim urged for tougher action against the man who filmed her when she was taking her shower in the hostel and took up the issue on social media, NUS president Tan Eng Chye apologised for falling short in providing support to victims of sexual misconduct incidents.
Monica stated in the Instagram post that Lim's punishment was too light but nonetheless, he did not deserve to be bullied by online trolls.
"Petitions or online opinions will not decide his punishment, and therefore I think it is time to step away from the discussion of what people think should be done to him, and step into the discussion of how can we improve our current society."
