S’pore Lady Explains Why She Thinks The Revelations Of The Monica Baey Saga Is Scary

Lest you’ve been living under a rock, you would’ve heard of the infamous National University of Singapore (NUS) voyeurism incident, in which a male student was caught filming a female student in the shower.

Long story short: The victim, Monica Baey, felt that the perpetrator had been let go too easily, and as a result, began campaigning for a harsher sentence for the crime.

Soon enough, Netizens began sharing Monica’s post, and the Internet quickly blew up. Petitions arose, calling for stiffer punishments for the perpetrator (such as expulsion) and those who commit sexual offences on campus.

Through it all, even the assailant’s identity was exposed, as was his girlfriend and heed this; their family.

So yeah, suffice it to say; the perpetrator, Nicholas, is certainly going through a torrid time, though some Netizens would argue that he’s simply paying the price. But here’s the thing;

Is the Internet truly in unison with regards to this whole ‘fiasco’? And perhaps even more importantly…

Is Internet-shaming really the right way to go?

Nope. At least not to Facebook user Kethlyn Gayatiri Koh, it’s nothing but a “disheartening” act.

The Internet is a scary place

We might’ve been hearing a united voice for Monica’s cause in recent weeks, but it seems that contrary to popular belief, not all advocate the actions Netizens have adopted against Nicholas and co. Case in point?

Facebook user Kethlyn Gayatiri Koh.

Having published a detailed Facebook post on 22 April 2019, the user went on to describe how the Internet’s a scary place, and how Netizens are campaigning in a way that’s creating the exact opposite of what we actually want.

Here’re a few key points Koh made:

• No one bothered to verify the validity of Monica’s Insta story and simply proceeded to go on a social media rampage. What if, Koh questions, the question was actually fake? Should it really be fake, Nicholas and his loved ones would have suffered irreparable damage.
• The 12-month conditional warning was set by the police and the AGC, and not NUS. Why are people campaigning for NUS to do something about it, and not the police?
• How much is enough to qualify as sufficient punishment? “Why do people enjoy playing God, in deciding what is enough?” she writes.
• Previous cases in NUS have insinuated that NUS is not doing enough to stop these incidents once and for all.
• Koh applauds Monica’s bravery in airing the issue, and also Netizens for standing by her through this testing time. However, she also expresses disappointment in the community in regards to the way they’ve responded to this unfortunate incident. She compares the Internet community to ‘aunties on the ‘orh hor’ bandwagon who name and shame’.
• This also creates a worse impact for other victims. “Will they truly get a voice? No. Instead, the perpetrator’s name, details, and pictures will be plastered all over the internet. They would have to confront the perpetrator and the incident all over again. Most importantly, their privacy would be taken away from them as well. Are we actually giving them a voice, or scaring them into keeping silent?” Koh writes.
• How much is enough exactly? Do we stop only when Nicholas commits suicide?
• Standing in solidarity with the victim is one thing; destroying the lives of an offender is another. ” It makes it worst for the person, his family and loved ones. Is it fair for them to also have their faces and information planted all over the internet? How will they ever move on from this? Shouldn’t we as a community help them through?”

And to end off, Koh concludes with the paragraph:

“This is why I think that the internet is scary. We choose the people that we want to fight for. Where were your voices and petitions when other people were victims? We name, shame, and destroy.

In a country where its people are the only resource, it is disheartening to see us so quick to tear each other down. How will we ever progress as a community if we can’t help each other to be better people?”

You can read her full post below:

If there’s one drama to sum up what she’s written, it would be Black Mirror‘s “Hated in the Nation”. It’s available in Netflix and trust me; after watching it, you might just nod to Koh’s points.

Reception

Following Koh’s contradictory post, Netizens turned up in droves to air their opinions. And while some expressed agreement with Koh’s views…

There were some who murmured disapproval as well.

So yeah, it seems that like the Wise Old Man once said:

“There’re truly two sides to a coin.”

**All comments are screengrabs from Kethlyn Gayatiri Koh Facebook Post