Online comments have called for caning to be served in Singapore after 4 Singaporean men were charged for gang-raping two Taiwanese girls. The four 23-years-olds are:
Lau Wei Seng
Bryan Ong Kun Jun
Tan Juan Yin
Lim Wei Xuan
According to Taiwan media reports, Lau Wei Seng is an exchange student in a university in Taipei. The other three undergrads were visiting Lau Wei Seng and landed in Taiwan on 9 Dec 2016. The 4 met two Taiwanese girls at a club on 10 Dec 2016. The Singaporean men then arranged for the girls to drink at Lau Wei Seng’s apartment, where they raped the girls after they got drunk. The 2 Taiwanese girls woke up the next morning and cried loudly, alerting neighbours.
Knowing they were in trouble, the four attempted to flee back to Singapore on the same day but they were soon arrested at Xi Meng Ding station with their luggage when they were due to return to Singapore.
Defended by Taiwanese lawyers in court, the Singaporeans claimed that the sex was consensual. Only Lim Wei Xuan is currently out on bail, while his 3 friends are in detention. They face a maximum 10 years’ imprisonment for rape in Taiwan.
However, some Singaporeans are calling for the 4 to be re-trialed and caned in Singapore – where caning is mandatory for rape and sexual assaults.