Worrying trend of Singapore paedophiles using ICT to find victims

In today's Straits Times (29th April 2005) there was three separate articles about internet related sex offences. The first, on the front page of ST was the shameful arrest of a 31 year old Singaporean teacher in Bangkok, Mr Darwis Rianto Lim who was reportedly caught by the Thai CID after a tip off by US and Australian Interpol investigators. Apparently Bangkok Post was quoted to have said that the Interpol officers were monitoring Lim in his efforts to purchase sex with Thai boys. (see Bangkok Post - Paedophile suspect held)

The second report was how Muhammad Khair Kamarudin, a 23 year old man who used net chat to befriend a 14 year old girl and ends his relationship after having sex with her (thus committing statutory rape). He was arrested (28 June 2004) and after trial was sentenced to 8 months in jail (which means he was probably just released from Custody). Its important to note that he would not have been caught if the 14 year old had not reported to her teacher.

The third report - an article by reporter Vivi Zainol who did a investigatory piece by actually visiting the IRC Chat site used by Kamarudin. She reports that she got a sex proposal within 10 minutes on being at that site. What is truly troubling is that she describes herself as a 15 year old girl and she gets proposed by these predators without hesitation despite it is common knowledge that such activity is illegal.

Admittedly, the use of the Internet for entrapping youths for sex is not a new phenomenon. I was just not prepared to learn that it happens here in Singapore with such overt brashness and disregard for the law.

I am piqued by how technically able the Interpol officers had been to 'observe' Mr Lim's online activities from afar. While I am glad for their alertness and capability to help stop men like Mr Lim but I cannot help but wonder if Interpol has become the proverbial unseen 'big brother'. I am however more concerned about local authorities apparent lack of obvious policing of the IRC chat site that Kamarudin used. I may be wrong here and the local authorities, like Interpol, is keeping a close eye on these chat sites and are in fact laying the trap to catch the paedophile offenders. I hope this is so.

Nevertheless, I feel that the law enforcement agencies need to take a more proactive role in policing chat sites to protect the public and especially the young children who do not know better and easily become victims. While it is impossible to stop all the potential crime that can occur on these chat sites, visible policing (much like the bobby on horseback in hydepark) can deter these predators. Indeed, the young needs to be educated about the dangers but often that is not enough. These chat sites are like the proverbial darkened street corners. They need to be lit up and properly patrolled so that the ordinary man woman or child can walk in it safely without having been tricked into becoming a victim.