[SINGAPORE] The president of the Law Society of Singapore has called on its vice-president Chia Boon Teck to resign, saying he had made unacceptable comments about a rape survivor.
In a statement released around 1 am on Mar 25, Lisa Sam Hui Min said Chia should resign as vice-president and council member.
Sam added: “The victim’s morality should not have been questioned in this manner.
“Such comments and views are also inimical for a person in a position of leadership to espouse.”
Chia, who was elected vice-president of the Law Society in August 2023 and previously served as its treasurer, sparked an outcry where he was accused of “victim shaming”.
This was after he posted comments about the victim of convicted rapist Lev Paniflov, a TikToker, scriptwriter and actor with a local YouTube channel.
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In the Mar 22 post on LinkedIn, Chia described the 30-year-old victim as “not exactly a babe in the woods” and commented, “Wow. Was she awake during this marathon?”, in reference to the sexual assault she was subjected to.
Paniflov was convicted on Mar 21 of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault by penetration, and one count of outrage of modesty.
In his post, which has since been deleted, Chia also referred to the fact that the victim and the perpetrator had met on Tinder, a dating app, saying “Tinder ain’t no LinkedIn”.
In all, Chia, the co-managing director at Chia Wong LLP, highlighted 10 points about the case. His post drew immediate comments from the legal fraternity, with lawyers calling for him to step down.
It also attracted the attention of Law Minister K Shanmugam, who expressed concerns that Chia’s personal views may misrepresent the norms in Singapore and impact other victims.
Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said victims may not be willing to report what happened when lawyers, especially those in senior positions representing the legal profession, make statements which minimise or dismiss their concerns.
Chia deleted the post at around 9.15 pm on Mar 23, minutes after The Straits Times contacted him.
He has since removed his account on LinkedIn.
Stefanie Yuen-Thio, joint managing partner at TSMP Law Corporation, said she is glad the Law Society has taken definitive action.
“We need to be clear that the body of lawyers does not find the views acceptable and I’m glad the president (of the Law Society) has come out to expressly and unconditionally say so,” she added.
In her post on LinkedIn, Yuen-Thio said the incident had resulted in a discussion on victim shaming and how misogyny has no place in society and the administration of justice.
“But I for one have not given much thought to how the survivor of the rape feels about this and whether the ‘firestorm’ of views has made the experience even more traumatic.
“If it has, I want to say how sorry I am to have brought the memories of a terrible experience again to the fore,” she said, adding that the first priority when crime has been committed should be to protect and care for those they are perpetrated against. THE STRAITS TIMES
