Andrew Loh, Main Stories, Top Story - Written on Sunday, October 18, 2009 19:36 - 56 Comments
Journalist assaulted for work on foreign workers
Andrew Loh
Assault is an attempt to silence journalists who expose abuses.
Mohsin is the Chief Editor of Bengali newspaper Bangla Kantha, which caters to the population of Bangladeshi workers in Singapore. The paper has been pivotal in exposing agents and employers who exploit these workers.
On Saturday, 17 October 2009, Mohsin was allegedly assaulted at a restaurant in Desker Road. According to an account of the incident by Ms Debbie Fordyce, a friend of Mohsin’s, “the boss of Marine Con Training Centre, Rahim, and the employment agent Jashim (Union Overseas)” had asked to meet with Mohsin for a “discussion”.
During the meeting, Rahim, Jashim and two others questioned Mohsin about his upcoming article for Bangla Kantha. They also questioned him about the documentary which filmmakers Lynn Lee and James Leong had made on foreign workers in Singapore. (Watch Migrant Dreams here.) Things got heated during the discussion and the four men allegedly assaulted Mohsin. They “hit him on the head with a vase, knocked him in the jaw, pushed him to the floor and kicked him when he was down,” according to Ms Fordyce.
Mohsin later went to the hospital to seek treatment and was given three days medical leave by the doctor. He is now resting at home. He has also lodged a police report.
Mohsin is not deterred from continuing his work. In an email to The Online Citizen, he said, “I cannot help but consider this attack as a fascist attack on the truth-revealing journalism, as well as on the institutions of journalism too. Yes, those agents have very strong backgrounds and they have been well-connected to the upper level but does this mean that we let them do their crime business at the expense of poor Bangladeshi workers? That was how my conscience worked and I did not hesitate to work with any journalist/agency against this corruption. And I won’t.”
Such physical abuse by agents and employers is not uncommon. They have, however, been directed at the helpless foreign workers – until now. Apparently, these agents and employers no longer limit their abuse to the workers but are now so bold as to assault a journalist in broad daylight – in a restaurant where other patrons are around.
In past encounters with various reporters, these agents and employers would spew vulgarities freely, adopt physically threatening poses such as coming up close to your face and taunt you, or would outright make explicit threats about breaking “your face” or about “teach[ing] you a lesson”. In one instance, while we were at Changi Airport, an employer kept making derogatory and condescending remarks about us the whole time we were there. Apparently, his behavior was aimed at disabusing and ridiculing us in front of the public.
What gives these people such audacity to behave like thugs in a country like Singapore? I would say it is the lackadaisical attitude of the Ministry of Manpower and the police towards such behaviour which allows these agents to feel like they’re “king of their domain” and behave thus. Many foreign workers have told us of the abuse they suffer at the hands of these agents and employers. Indeed, some of these workers had to be admitted to the hospital for their injuries. In one case, a worker had had his skull cracked open. In another, a worker lost his hearing in one ear. (Read it here and here.) No one was prosecuted in both instances.
The MOM is mostly only concerned about salary disputes – and turns a blind eye to other forms of abuses, especially by repatriation companies. (Read TOC’s special expose here.)
The assault on Mohsin is just the latest in a string of such cases. If the authorities do not take a serious view of such behaviour, I am afraid these thugs – for that is what they truly are – who disguise and mask themselves as legitimate employment agents and employers, will only get bolder in their methods of abuse.
Apparently, the assault on Mohsin is to silence him as a journalist, to effectively put fear into him so that he will not expose the exploitation which these agents are involved in. If the authorities do not get to the bottom of the assault on Mohsin and bring those responsible to justice, then more such agents and employers will feel it is within their right and power to take the law into their own hands – the law according to them, of course.
In short, the murky, exploitative world of foreign workers will become a domain of these thugs.
And that would be a mockery of our country and of Singaporeans who abide by the law.
——
What did the police do in Mohsin’s case? Here’s an account by Ms Fordyce. (Lameas is the restaurant where the assault took place.)
The fight took place at 7:00-7:30 pm 17 October. At 7:43 Mohsin called the police. They came and questioned both sides, but told Mohsin that there was no reason to pursue the matter since it was simply one man’s word against another. They refused to take statements. Mohsin called friends to support him, which brought me and Lyn and James there by around 8:30. The three of us escorted him to the Rochor Police station.
Initially the police seemed dismissive and reluctant to take his statement. Their concentration wandered and the young guy’s attention kept faltering: What work do you do? Why did those guys want to meet you? What do they have against you? Why didn’t you call the police earlier? What kind of work do you do?…
He had called the police, as he told them again and again, and this took some time to sink in. Officer Tan, who recorded the incident made repeated calls which must have given him the insight to take an interest in this case. In the end the police report fairly represented the series of events: the men involved, the motivation for the assault, the nature of Mohsin’s writing, the pushing and hitting and the injuries, the verbal threats. The report doesn’t mention the police taking his handphone from him and deleting the photo he has taken earlier of Jashim (with Jashim’s permission), or the reason the police gave for not taking statements when they came to investigate the scene.
When we left the police station, about 2 hours later, the police said they would see about getting a copy of the video footage from Lameas. We went with Mohsin to the A&E at NUH to have the injuries tended and recorded.
—–
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56 Comments
These thugs must be stopped. Such intimidation must never be condoned. They are human traffickers, exploiters, and people without consciemce. It appalling.
isn’t it wonderful…we are fighting against one another….over foreigners…thanks to our stupid gpvernment!
You can be jailed for up to 20 years if you assaulted an MP.
But when others assault you, an ordinary citizen, you first have to deal with disinterested policemen, and then you will have to go to the Magistrate and convince him you have a case before he will issue an order for the police to investigate.
After that, the police may call you back after several weeks.
That’s what happened to me before.
You will never hear the police say to an MP, “It is your word against another.”
man, this is serious…what is happening to our country.
We have to expedite our movements to fight for these migrant workers. The line crossed has been too intensed.
Andrew, thank you for being brave and publishing this article.
@blackfeline
“isn’t it wonderful…we are fighting against one another….over foreigners…thanks to our stupid gpvernment! ”
without these foreign workers, you’ll have to build your own house. think before you talk.
If a police takes money so that he does not enforce the law, that’s is money corruption.
But when a police chooses when to enforce the law, depending on the status of the people involved, that is moral corruption.
While Singapore is ranked very high in the freedom of money corruption, I think we are dwindling in terms of moral corruption.
It is simply disgusting how the police can turn a blind eye to such physical assault in broad daylight. What “non-seizable offense” crap is just an excuse for the police not to do any work.
I bet my last dollar that had Mohsin been a PAP MP, the police would immediately arrest his attackers and charge him in court within 2 days!!! That was what happened to the man who set the MP on fire…..and also the man who supposedly threatened another MP.
Why doesnt the main stream media pick up on this? I would see an assault on journalist as a fairly serious issue to the public and amongst professionals.
3) blackfeline on October 18th, 2009 10.00 pm
right is right and wrong is wrong
these foreigners aren’t the ones that are stealing our jobs
its our duty to protect the weak
and yes it is the government fault
if this is an australian or an american citizen who got beaten up
the embassies will enforce pressure on the SIngapore Governent.
Alot of our people look down on Bangladeshis( its a bloody fact), thats why its alot easier for the thugs to hit them. The police force comprise of citizens who are like that as well.
Same goes with the government.
We don’t treat human beings equal in this society, and therein lies our flaw. This flaw prevails in all forms of life in this society. Any form of discrimination is an attitude of elitism which has been instilled into singaporeans since birth.
We have to strive for a better society, change the policies/remove the arrogant smirks from our ministers by voting them out.
Agree, they must b stopped….who knows how it will spread in the future, until they come for us
Rahim, the owner of Marine Con Training Center, is featured from 7.00 onwards in this report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isZfVhyKLsI
I believe this latest incident is some kind of pay back, or revenge. Seriously, violent intimidation of journalists. Are we living in a banana republic?
“In one instance, while we were at Changi Airport, an employer kept making derogatory and condescending remarks about us the whole time we were there. Apparently, his behavior was aimed at disabusing and ridiculing us in front of the public.”
Isn’t that the same kind of behaviour shown here by many of this website’s supporters towards ST journalist?
@8) Richard on October 18th, 2009 10.46 pm
“….without these foreign workers, you’ll have to build your own house. think before you talk….”
We should also think & talk with brains and mouth , not with backside and A**hole (respectively). These are the type of short-term, profiteering mindsets that see everything in pure material sense — exploiting others is a means to the end . They conveniently forgot that our lack of manpower was started 40+ years ago, nor that our weak labor laws encourage such bullying tactics to flourish in the first place. Do you think we can’t attract or nurture our own construction workers IF the terms of employment/renumeration are comparably to standards of other developed nations? Just look at the quality of our union head — paid large salary to come up with only crap like “cheaper, better, faster”.
16) theforgottongeneration
“These are the type of short-term, profiteering mindsets that see everything in pure material sense — exploiting others is a means to the end.”
But the problem is the main beneficiaries of all these exploitation is Singaporeans. And while people can talk abt principles, they will kbkb when prices go up.
Disgusting! I wonder if it helps to write down what is being done as the police show their apathetic ways.
“But the problem is the main beneficiaries of all these exploitation is Singaporeans. And while people can talk abt principles, they will kbkb when prices go up. ”
It doesn’t have to be. It is only when businesses are obsessed with getting the profits they want by hook and by crook that increase in wages will lead to increase in prices of goods. At any rate, even when our flats are made with dirt cheap labor, their prices keep going up and up. So with or without migrant labor, that’s what will happen because it profits some people at the top to ensure labor costs are as low as possible.
“without these foreign workers, you’ll have to build your own house. think before you talk.”
Richard, richard, richard. The world (oops singapore) ain’t going to collapse if there are no foreign workers.
Since when we are getting cost of services / products reflective on or proportionately to the low cost of foreign workers here in our country now in this modern society.
Whatever benefits there are just get captured by the owners. In fact, we are gearing more and more towards the concept of affordability – “rob” while it is still possible using a very crude analogy.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- Martin Niemoller
8) Richard on October 18th, 2009 10.46 pm
without these foreign workers, you’ll have to build your own house. think before you talk.
================================================================
These foreign workers are here to build the infrastructure to house the 2 million aliens the government brought in.
Remember, Singapore’s population is declining!
15) Seng
“Isn’t that the same kind of behaviour shown here by many of this website’s supporters towards ST journalist?”
Seng, in your rush to attack TOC and defend ST, you’ve completely missed the point. THIS IS VIOLENT ASSAULT INTENDED TO SILENCE A JOURNALIST. Whether ST or TOC, anyone who cares about journalism MUST condemn this.
After reading the article and seeing the video, I hv only hope that those ppl involved in this scam to cheat the unfortunate will get their retribution in any kind.
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 19 Oct 2009
[...] Strangers in a Strange Land – TOC: Journalist assaulted for work on foreign workers [...]
“As long as the regime has access to such vast revenue it has little incentive to reform or change. The elites are hiding billions of dollars of the people’s revenue in Singapore, while the country needlessly suffers under the lowest social spending in Asia.”
EarthRights International’s Matthew Smith
The ill-gotten gains of elites in North Korea and Zimbabwe are also thought to be held in the city-state. US financial giant Merrill Lynch estimates a third of Singapore’s 60,000-odd millionaires are Indonesian, whereby Jakarta’s wealthy beneficiaries of corruption and cronyism have moved their holdings away from the anti-corruption efforts undertaken by President Yudhoyono.
———————————————————————————————————-
US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report:-
Singapore is a destination country for women and girls who are trafficked from Thailand, the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, and Indonesia for commercial sexual and labor exploitation. Some women voluntarily migrate to Singapore to work as prostitutes but are later coerced into sexual servitude.
Quite an achievement for the PAP,
When an MP got whacked, the offender will be hailed to IMH immediately without giving him the voice of grievances, Now…these foreigners got threatened, our authority are giving them a different kind of “treatment”. As LHL put it, they are transient workers and so are their sufferings.
There is nothing sacred that they will not exploit to increase their salaries.
15) seng
and did we ever use vulgarities or derogatory remarks? we only criticise them for their lack of journalism integrity…so think and check before you talk.
Man, that is blatant thuggery and hooliganism. Aljazeera’s documentary is an eyeopener. I believe that the human trade as much social and emotional dislocation as drug trade. It causes pain to the families of migrant workers back home as well as job losses to the country where they are employed. Just imagine if these hardworking migrant workers would have stayed back, they would have contributed towards building their own economies and how miserable the families feel with the head of family not being with them. However it is ‘Uniquely Singapore’ drug traders are hanged to death but human traffickers are protected even after being caught doing whatever is outlawed.
Frankly speaking, our Govt is no God either in this foreign worker business. For allowing foreign workers to work in Singapore, our MOM imposes a monthly levy varying from S$150 to S$470 per month depending on the skills of the foreign worker and type of industry the worker is in.
Maybe MOM can explain, in return for this monthly levy, what has MOM really done to protect the interests and welfare of these workers ? The same applies what has MOM really done to deserve the monthly levy that we pay for a maid ? Isn’t this also form of indirect tax to Singaporeans ?
So think twice when our PAP Ministers or MP next remind us that we are lucky because 90% of Singaporeans do not pay income tax ! They seem to have forgotten the real fact that many of us are being forced to pay for GST, COE, ERPs, service taxes and a host of other levies.
is the whole thread on Silvia Lim gone?
Seng, in your rush to attack TOC and defend ST, you’ve completely missed the point. THIS IS VIOLENT ASSAULT INTENDED TO SILENCE A JOURNALIST. Whether ST or TOC, anyone who cares about journalism MUST condemn this.
No sir, it is you, in your rush who have completely missed my point. Read my post again and check which incident I am refering to:
“In one instance, while we were at Changi Airport, an employer kept making derogatory and condescending remarks about us the whole time we were there. Apparently, his behavior was aimed at disabusing and ridiculing us in front of the public.”
TOC must be consistent. If TOC condemn the above behaviour, they should do likewise to some of remarks made here.
“However it is ‘Uniquely Singapore’ drug traders are hanged to death but human traffickers are protected even after being caught doing whatever is outlawed. ”
Singapore only considers human trafficking to have occured if there is real physical coercion, eg kidnapping, beatings etc, involved. Anything else is considered as the ‘victim’ being a willing party.
Is there a state of lawlessness in SIN?
patriot
#33
Than in that case there will be non ending list of articles rebutting the comments made by commentators. Well do you expect AsiaOne to do the same thing as well or for that matter Hardwarezone. Both of the websites are owned by SPH, the online channel of mainstream media.
who is Mohsin??? He is not LBH or Denise Phua, so police will not give a damn coz assault is not a seizable offence. Even if you do file complaint and get a report filed, they are too busy catching people distributing fliers, walking in a procession, jaywalkers, etc
This video truly gives Singapore MOM a bad name! Shame on our Government!
A migrant workers paying close to USD$6000 to come to Singapore to work only that there is not work, no pay and even have their work permit cancelled. This is worst than robbery. The secret banking system make the problem even harder to detect by authority yet our government choose to ignore it. This kind of cheating scheem by our Singaporeans businessman/employers is utterly shameless and cannot be condoned. Suggest jailed them!
The first question we need to address is how were these companies allowed to gain so many quotas for foriegn workers from Bangladesh. Are we giving out so many work pass so that the collection of levies becomes a source for revenue, like the COE.
On the lighter note, Mohsin should request CSJ to follow him and he would not have a shortage of videographers covering the event. The international exposure is certainly making mockery of our so called first world status.
I don’t understand this: how can catching jaywalkers be more important than catching/prosecuting perpetrators of violence???
Oh, silly me. In one case, you can fine jaywalkers who will pay up without a pip. On the other hand, you need to interview, investigate and prosecute in court. It’s easy to see which brings money and which brings hard work…
Shame on our Singapore system. Vote for Change!
You really begin to wonder whether CPIB is in on this……or whether members of the CPIB are actually somehow connected….
all these shady business can operate and keep operating despite complaints, money laundering accusations and human trafficking. Definitely someone’s corrupted, definitely someone who’s high up there or a friend of someone in either ministry.
Its the government’s job to make sure all agencies are clean. Never Bloody do Homework, Lazy Bunch of numbskulls. In the end, we’re stuck with another social problem.
The old days when sg civil servants actually care about the country are over. Today’s batch are a horde of leeches who only care about doing the least work and getting the most money. I bet some even collude with the lawbreakers and scum for personal benefits.
17) RW on October 19th, 2009 8.05 am
“….But the problem is the main beneficiaries of all these exploitation is Singaporeans. And while people can talk abt principles, they will kbkb when prices go up….”
2 points on this:
a) So, it is agreed that our system supports a exploitative culture regardless of who the beneficiaries are? Who allowed this system then, the people of S’pore?
b) The PROBLEM is that the main beneficiaries are not ALL Singaporeans or the majority, but only a minority that is exploiting & lumpsumed as ‘Singaporeans’. It is diffcult to see how HDB flats build at perhaps reduced costs but sold at subjective high prices benefit the 70+% of Singaporeans whose only option of a home is to buy from HDB. Maybe U are referring to “new Singaporeans” (aka FTs) who off-load their flats at a handsome sum when they jump ship to another countries.
The root of the problem, 1 party system.
Do update us if the police respond!!
Singapore got police meh?
May be some are corrupted already ?? Wonder why MOM give out so many employment passes. Is the some one who profited from the workers or companies?
i am appalled that this could take place in broad daylight AND the police seemingly NOT interested in the case! this is modern SINGAPORE which cares only for the $$ and not the people! the ministers chase the $$ by ensuring that by hook or crook the gdp shows improvement, regardless of the people cost.
i look forward to a tsunami at the GE. out with this bunch!
What is really strange, is that people who actually need workers are unable to get them, so they resort to using phantom workers to get a foriegn worker quota. These guys are charged in court and fined/imprisoned. Another group are forced to get workers from certain countries, like the mainland Chinese workers in Indian restaurants in Little India. And yet we have so many workers being brought in without work being available. Something is terribly wrong and yet no one is answering as to who authorised these quotas to all the companies in question.
If we are truly concerned about the welfare of foreigners, then the first thing is to limit their intake.
Most foreign construction workers are imported en mass and treated like sheep or serfs.
The entire construction industry needs to be reformed. Look to the western countries for ideas. They can make construction work “sexy” such that enough of their own populace are willing to take up the job. So why not locals?
Job re-design and not blatant import of cheap labour is the key.
Once the numbers are curtailed, those remaining will have better welfare.
Treat the root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms.
49) btan
I agree. Had MOM properly monitor the influx of migrant workers, all these would have happened in the first place. Agents(or anyone who’s involved) would not have seized the opportunity to scam these workers.
Something is really wrong when you see an overflow of migrant workers stucked here in singapore with no jobs yet MOM allowed more to come in and “work”.
@50) niagara on October 20th, 2009 9.13 pm
All these are symptoms of a declining society. The lay workers at MOM don’t care. They just work 9 to 5, collect their pay and then go back to their expensive homes and hectic life.
The top brass don’t care. They still get their million dollar salary and serfs to build HDB flats cheaply so they can sell to us more expensively.
There might be corruption going on at MOM. The quotas are way too much and look at the few work available for the workers. It all doesn’t matched up. There is money to pocket. TOC should do a in depth coverage of MOM inner workings.
Singapore Press Freedom: 133rd in the World! « Secede SG
[...] The Online Citizen. Oh, and musn’t forget about the poor brave Bangladeshi journalist who was beaten up for covering the life and death issues affecting his countrymen in Singapore. Thankfully TODAY went [...]
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 43
[...] in a Strange Land – TOC: Journalist assaulted for work on foreign workers – Sgpolitics.net: Liability for maid’s medical bills: Stop pushing the whole buck to employers – [...]
No wonder nobody is checking foreign workers and their abodes. There must be some cahoots somewhere if you lift the carpet high enough. Or maybe there is one law for the rich and another for the masses, just like the CK Tang boss illegal organ trade saga.
They must have very powerful connections….if not how do you explain a Businessman behaving like a gangster?
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
More In Uncategorized
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
More In Uncategorized
- Rebutting Law Minister K Shanmugam
- Challenge of communication
- TOC & Talk Politics hold successful Year in Review forum
- “Live” from Post Museum – TOC’s Year End Review
- The Fajar Generation
Trust our mat mata.
They are only too happy to see you die if you are assaulted as dead man tell no lies and their job will be easy.
They areonly makingjustice in Sing MOCKERY.