Current Affairs
Palestinian father’s twin babies killed by Israeli airstrike while he collects birth certificates
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In a moment of sheer disbelief and overwhelming sorrow, Mohammad Abu Al Qumsan collapsed in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza on Tuesday. His grief was palpable as he pleaded with health officials, “I beg you. I beg you. Let me see them,” referring to his newborn twins, Aysal and Aser, and his wife, Jumana, aged 28.
Just hours earlier, Al Qumsan had left his home in Deir al-Balah to obtain birth certificates for his three-day-old twins. The twins, a boy and a girl, were the latest addition to his family, born only days ago. However, while he was away, an Israeli airstrike hit his home, claiming the lives of his newborn children and his wife, who had just given birth.
Footage captured by a freelance journalist for CNN showed the distraught father surrounded by mourners at Al Aqsa Hospital. Men could be seen comforting him, gently stroking his forehead as he struggled to process the unimaginable loss. Later, Al Qumsan was filmed kneeling beside the shrouded bodies of his loved ones, reciting Islamic funeral prayers alongside rows of worshippers.
Jumana, a pharmacist, and their twins were among at least 23 people killed in several Israeli airstrikes in the area, according to hospital officials. The strikes also claimed the life of a nine-month-old baby. The Israeli military, in response to inquiries, stated that “the details of the incident as published are not currently known to the IDF,” adding that its operations target only military objectives and that it takes measures to minimize civilian harm.
At the funeral, an imam sought to comfort the grieving father, saying, “May God unite you together in paradise my dear. I swear to God you will be reunited with them in paradise and be with them forever.”
Al Qumsan, who had moved his family to Deir al-Balah in a desperate attempt to protect his pregnant wife from Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign, now faces a future without them. The Gaza Ministry of Health reports that at least 115 babies have been born and killed since the escalation of violence began.
Jumana had recently shared her joy on social media, celebrating the birth of her twins and calling them a “miracle.” The couple had been married last summer, before the outbreak of the current conflict.
Israel’s military offensive, which began on 7 October 2023 following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel, has resulted in nearly 40,000 Palestinian deaths, including more than 16,400 children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The ongoing violence has also left over 92,000 people injured.
The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, has described the situation in Gaza as an “unrelenting” war on children, estimating that at least 17,000 children have been separated from their families or are unaccompanied. Salim Oweis, a communications officer for UNICEF, expressed shock at the scale of suffering, destruction, and displacement in Gaza, stating that the true extent of the devastation goes far beyond what is seen on television.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen as the population of over 2.2 million people faces the threat of famine and disease. Relief efforts are hampered by Israeli restrictions on aid, and the region’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, with less than half of its 36 hospitals partially operational.
As the conflict drags on, the stories of loss, like that of Mohammad Abu Al Qumsan, are becoming all too common, underscoring the devastating human toll of the violence in Gaza.
“The Israeli army is one of the most criminal armies in the world,” Chris Sidoti, a member of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in June. The COI was presenting findings of its report into abuses committed on both sides since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
The post Palestinian father’s twin babies killed by Israeli airstrike while he collects birth certificates appeared first on Gutzy Asia.
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Current Affairs
Reforming Singapore’s defamation laws: Preventing legal weapons against free speech
Opinion: The tragic suicide of Geno Ong, linked to the financial stress from a defamation lawsuit, raises a critical issue: Singapore’s defamation laws need reform. These laws must not be weaponized to silence individuals.
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by Alexandar Chia
This week, we hear the tragic story of the suicide of Geno Ong, with Ong citing the financial stress from the defamation lawsuit against her by Raymond Ng and Iris Koh.
Regardless of who’s right and who’s wrong, this Koh/Ng vs Ong affair raises a wider question at play – the issue of Singapore’s defamation laws and how it needs to be tightened.
Why is this needed? This is because defamation suits cannot be weaponised the way they have been in Singapore law. It cannot be used to threaten people into “shutting up”.
Article 14(2)(a) of the Constitution may permit laws to be passed to restrict free speech in the area of defamation, but it does not remove the fact that Article 14(1)(a) is still law, and it permits freedom of speech.
As such, although Article 14(2)(a) allows restrictions to be placed on freedom of speech with regard to the issue of defamation, it must not be to the extent where Article 14(1)(a)’s rights and liberties are not curtailed completely or heavily infringed on.
Sadly, that is the case with regard to precedence in defamation suits.
Let’s have a look at the defamation suit then-PM Goh Chok Tong filed against Dr Chee Soon Juan after GE 2001 for questions Dr Chee asked publicly about a $17 billion loan made to Suharto.
If we look at point 12 of the above link, in the “lawyer’s letter” sent to Dr Chee, Goh’s case of himself being defamed centred on lines Dr Chee used in his question, such as “you can run but you can’t hide”, and “did he not tell you about the $17 billion loan”?
In the West, such lines of questioning are easily understood at worse as hyperbolically figurative expressions with the gist of the meaning behind such questioning on why the loan to Suharto was made.
Unfortunately, Singapore’s defamation laws saw Dr Chee’s actions of imputing ill motives on Goh, when in the West, it is expected of incumbents to take the kind of questions Dr Chee asked, and such questions asked of incumbent office holders are not uncommon.
And the law permits pretty flimsy reasons such as “withdrawal of allegations” to be used as a deciding factor if a statement is defamatory or not – this is as per points 66-69 of the judgement.
This is not to imply or impute ill intent on Singapore courts. Rather, it shows how defamation laws in Singapore needs to be tightened, to ensure that a possible future scenario where it is weaponised as a “shut-up tool”, occurs.
These are how I suggest it is to be done –
- The law has to make mandatory, that for a case to go into a full lawsuit, there has to be a 3-round exchange of talking points and two attempts at legal mediation.
- Summary judgment should be banned from defamation suits, unless if one party fails to adduce evidence or a defence.
- A statement is to be proven false, hence, defamatory, if there is strictly material along with circumstantial evidence showing that the statement is false. Apologies and related should not be used as main determinants, given how many of these statements are made in the heat of the moment, from the natural feelings of threat and intimidation from a defamation suit.
- A question should only be considered defamatory if it has been repeated, after material facts of evidence are produced showing, beyond reasonable doubt, that the message behind the question, is “not so”, and if there is a directly mentioned subject in the question. For example, if an Opposition MP, Mr A, was found to be poisoned with a banned substance, and I ask openly on how Mr A got access to that substance, given that its banned, I can’t be found to have “defamed the government” with the question as 1) the government was not mentioned directly and 2) if the government has not produced material evidence that they indeed had no role in the poisoning affair, if they were directly mentioned.
- Damages should be tiered, with these tiers coded into the Defamation Act – the highest quantum of damages (i.e. those of a six-figured nature) is only to be reserved if the subject of defamation lost any form of office, revenue or position, or directly quantifiable public standing, or was subjected to criminal action, because of the act of defamation. If none of such occur, the maximum amount of damages a plaintiff in a defamation can claim is a 4-figure amount capped at $2000. This will prevent rich and powerful figures from using defamation suits and 6-figure damages to intimidate their questioners and detractors.
- All defendants of defamation suit should be allowed full access to legal aid schemes.
Again, this piece does not suggest bad-faith malpractice by the courts in Singapore. Rather, it is to suggest how to tighten up defamation laws to avoid it being used as the silencing hatchet.
Current Affairs
Man arrested for alleged housebreaking and theft of mobile phones in Yishun
A 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Yishun Ring Road rental flat and stealing eight mobile phones worth S$3,400 from five tenants. The Singapore Police responded swiftly on 1 September, identifying and apprehending the suspect on the same day. The man has been charged with housebreaking, which carries a potential 10-year jail term.
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SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a rental flat along Yishun Ring Road and stealing eight mobile phones from five tenants.
The incident occurred in the early hours on Sunday (1 September), according to a statement from the Singapore Police Force.
The authorities reported that they received a call for assistance at around 5 a.m. on that day.
Officers from the Woodlands Police Division quickly responded and, through ground enquiries and police camera footage, were able to identify and apprehend the suspect on the same day.
The stolen mobile phones, with an estimated total value of approximately S$3,400, were recovered hidden under a nearby bin.
The suspect was charged in court on Monday with housebreaking with the intent to commit theft.
If convicted, he could face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
In light of this incident, the police have advised property owners to take precautions to prevent similar crimes.
They recommend securing all doors, windows, and other openings with good quality grilles and padlocks when leaving premises unattended, even for short periods.
The installation of burglar alarms, motion sensor lights, and CCTV cameras to cover access points is also advised. Additionally, residents are urged to avoid keeping large sums of cash and valuables in their homes.
The investigation is ongoing.
Last month, police disclosed that a recent uptick in housebreaking incidents in private residential estates across Singapore has been traced to foreign syndicates, primarily involving Chinese nationals.
Preliminary investigations indicate that these syndicates operate in small groups, targeting homes by scaling perimeter walls or fences.
The suspects are believed to be transient travelers who enter Singapore on Social Visit Passes, typically just a day or two before committing the crimes.
Before this recent surge in break-ins, housebreaking cases were on the decline, with 59 reported in the first half of this year compared to 70 during the same period last year.
However, between 1 June and 4 August 2024, there were 10 reported housebreaking incidents, predominantly in private estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.
The SPF has intensified efforts to engage residents near high-risk areas by distributing crime prevention advisories, erecting alert signs, and training them to patrol their neighborhoods, leading to an increase in reports of suspicious activity.
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