Justice

One key pillar of Singapore society is the principle of justice. There are written laws in Singapore and legal cases to determine what is legally right and wrong and what are crimes (which has to be prosecuted by the state) and what are civil wrongs (which has to be taken up by the plaintiff in a civil suit).

For example, murder, robbery and violent assault are crimes that has to be investigated and prosecuted by the state. It is not possible for a small citizen to find the money to carry out the investigation and to prosecute the offender. Even if the citizen has the money, they do not have the state power to carry out the investigation and gather evidence. These matters have to be handled by the state.

Cheating cames in a grey area. If one person claims that another person has cheated him, it could be considered as a civil offence that has to be prosecuted individually.

However, if several people complained that they have been cheated under a common mode of operation, it warrants investigation by the authority. This is more urgent when the target of the complaint had advertised their product in the mass media to reach out to a large number of people and continues their mode of operation after complaint has been received.

If the authority carried out an investigation, this mere act would probably put the party under alert and prevent them from continuing their activity blatantly. At the least, it would prevent other ignorant parties from being harmed.

Another option for the police is to carry out the investigation secretly and gather evidence. In some cases, they may carry out what is called a "sting" opertion, i.e. to simulate a case and gather the evidence.

The attorney general in a country is not only the lawyer of the government. This office is also the lawyer of the people. It has the duty to ask for potential wrong doings to be investigated by the police and to prosecute the offender, if sufficient evidence is gathered.

This would strenthen the rule of law and uphold the principle of justice in a country. It is important that all citizens should have access to justice and fairness, regardless of their financial wealth and ability to pay for a civil suit. If you look at the scale of justice, it has to be balanced and not weighted in favor of the rich and powerful.

Tan Kin Lian