Of shaming high ranking horny person and punishing the creative vandal

Update as of 19 July 2012:
Ex-CNB chief Ng Boon Gay to claim trial

Update as of 6 July 2012:
Peter Benedict Lim Sin Pang claims trial

Of high ranking horny people...

The higher the rank, the higher the salary, the more inclined you are to have sex in public places.

OR

The higher the rank, the higher the salary, the more cheapo one becomes.

OR

All c wanted was to add "THRILL-SEEKER" to his already outstanding resume. He brought his scandal home!

What's amazing is that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) have decided to release a full disclosure of who he had sex with, what kind of sex, the number of times, with who and where. I do not remember reading anything this detailed and salacious in the 154th media at all. The women involved were  named along with their organisations. Lim is charged for 10 counts of corruption. If convicted, he could be jailed up to five years and fined S$100,000 for each charge.

This looks to be the Ministry of Home Afffairs' (MHA) strongest showing of shaming. Is the Ministry looking to take the lead from internet vigilantes by adopting this naming and shaming tactic? Only a few weeks ago, Xiaxue had taken to task, the identifying and shaming abusive netizens who had at Temasek Review's invite, provided abusive captions to photographs of Xiaxue and her friends. You can read her entry here (warning, contains expletives).

Then, we have the arrest of Sticker Lady. Sticker Lady is Samantha Lo aka SKL0. She is a content curator with the National Art Gallery's Canvas project and the founder of online magazine RCGNTN dedicated to local artists. Lo has been arrested on the charge of vandalism after allegedly spray painting "My Grandfather Road/Building" on roads and walls around Singapore. She is also believed to be behind the stickers with quirky slogans such as "Press Until Shiok".

If convicted, Lo will be punished with a fine of up to S$2,000, or jailed up to three years and caning.

Why are we putting these two issues together, you may wonder. For us, we see a common point. It is precedence. Precedence is an ugly word. Since we are a nation that lacks creativity, we can only be sure that there will be copycats. This means there will be more Peter Benedict Lim Sin Pang and Samantha Lo to come. Obviously, MHA would not want more high ranking officers to be charged for corruption in cash or kind since it so defeats the sole purpose of their high salaries. Neither would MHA want more Samanthas who would stick stickers on every traffic light and spray "My Grandfather's Road" on every single road in Singapore. Frankly, we wouldn't want to have our fingers on traffic light buttons which has layers of sticky stickers with dirt if everyone wants to make an aesthetic statement.

Perhaps, MHA's heavy-handedness has something to do with its incumbent Minister who had shown himself to be quite a character since the by-elections and the recent Pre-U seminar. 

Interestingly enough, "My Grandfather Road" has sparkled quite a number of heritage tracking events. The New Paper has started a series which traces the descendants of some prominent people from Singapore’s past, whose names adorn road signs around the island. The same goes for Bukit Brown.

We have to concede that "My Grandfather Road" makes a great Arts Festival / National Heritage slogan. How about we give Lo a light smack on the hand and in return, let her helm these festivals as community service?

As for Lim, he should get the highest possible punishment ever. Take it that the State is punishing him for infidelity and deceiving his employers, which is in this case, the State.

* All you thrill-seekers be warned. I am sure the carparks near the indoor stadium, Big Splash, Marina Bay Golf Course are no longer ideal for public displays of passions unless you would like an audience from the men in blue.