The triumph of evil

So, you were fully aware of how the police treated "Ah Neo". But you didn't care. You couldn't be bothered. You didn't want to support him. You kept consoling yourself: "Oh, that's because he is a politician mah . He had only himself to blame. They wouldn't do such things to me - a diam diam (quiet), guai guai (obedient) Human Battery".

You were WRONG!

Let me give you the insider's information of how more than 20 police men and security guards treated ordinary citizens worse than they had treated Chee. That's right, worse! In Chee's case, the police knew that it was under the watchful eyes of foreign journalists and their cameras. So they tried as hard as they could to appear civilised. But away from the public's view, this is how they treated ordinary citizens: (emphasis and colours added by me).


QUOTE
English Version
Mr Policeman, are you Professional?

I am writing with regards to the recent tussle at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on 6 February 2006 in relation to the removal of organs of my cousin, Sim Tee Hua (the deceased).

The incident has attracted much attention from the media, and what happened that fateful night has drastically changed my perception of the professionalism of the police force in Singapore. I had always believed in what the government prided about our police force - a professional well-trained force, possessing the ability to handle all contingencies and are always well-prepared to handle all kinds of scenarios - moreover, a Singapore Quality Award (SQA) standard agency.

However, what I witnessed at SGH on 6 February 2007 (at about 1 am) were policemen who acted as if they were superior and greater than others, unlike the friendly police that the government pictured them to be.

The so-called professionally trained policemen we (I and my relatives) encountered that night were not at all friendly, warm or even professional. There was no calm advice or words of comfort given. Instead, they were yelling out orders like we were some second, third class citizens who were not worth a mention. Some of the policemen were aggressive and rough. Is this our so-called professionally trained police? If this is so, I am terribly worried for our country's future.

During our exchange that night, I had previously highlighted some potential problems to the policemen which might occur:-

(1)My auntie (the deceased's mother) is old and has heart problems. If the authorities insisted on the removal of the Tee Hua's organs by force, it may agitate and add on to her grief and I was afraid that she might suffer a heart attack as a result.

(2)And if she (Tee Hua's mother) were to suffer a heart attack, her children would definitely be even more emotionally uncontrollable. Who knows what might happen next?

(3)That night, the deceased's mother and sisters were still reeling from anguish over his sudden 'death'? and were unable to manage their emotions. Hence, handling the matter authoritatively would undeniably cause a heated uproar.

(4)I had pointed out to them (the policemen) that many times, the root causes of many confrontations between two parties or more were that the matters were improperly handled with inadequatesensitivity and that the parties did not have (sufficient) avenues to voice out their thoughts.

(5)Moreover, other patients would be affected if a confrontation were to occur in the hospital. I had already suggested to the police and the hospital staff that they carefully consider the undesirable consequences.

In the end, the authorities decided to use force (to proceed with the removal of the deceased's organs) and an ugly confrontation took place. A few of the policemen acted boorishly and they were even more tensed up than us (the family members of the deceased)! The policemen even commanded and rebuked my relatives. Despite our grief, some of us even had to calm the policemen down. It was fortunate that my male relatives were relatively more composed, otherwise the situation might have gotten out of control.

(1) Ten male policemen were unable to control the deceased's emotionally unstable sisters and the struggle lasted for 15 minutes. (It was reported in medical studies that the strength of a person who is emotionally unstable is ten times more than at normal).

[Human Battery: Eh, I thought they have platoons of female police officers to handle female citizens? No meh? I saw that on TV when they confronted Chee Siok Chin outside CPF building and at Hong Lim Park! Oh I see, in Chee's case, the police put up a public wayang show for us to see. Away from public's eye, they actually sent 10 male police officers to grab a female citizen for 15 minutes! Ta Ma De!]

(2) In the midst of the confrontation, the deceased was forcefully pushed into the operating theatre through another door without our knowledge. The Tee Hua's mother who was in the ICU fell down to the floor in the midst of the chaos. The deceased's sisters who were outside the ICU, upon seeing that their mother had fallen, requested to the approximately 10 policemen who were guarding the ICU entrance to allow one or two of them to go in and take a look at their mother (in case she really suffered a heart attack as feared). To our horror, our request was bluntly rejected and a policewoman rudely ordered us to shut up!

(3)Just as the deceased was being forcefully pushed into the operating theatre, a policeman who was guarding the door taunted my cousin-in-law (by using hand gestures), challenging him to dash into the operating theatre. This caused even more frustration to the already grieving, emotionally disconcerted family members of the deceased. May I ask, should this be how a professionally trained police officer be behaving under the circumstances where a family who had just witnessed a loved one being wheeled into the operation room for organs removal and they could do nothing to protect him?

(4) After the deceased was pushed into the operating theatre, my 15-year-old nephew who was relatively more calm started to comfort my cousins. An insensitive policeman actually yelled at my nephew, rudely ordering him to stay silent! Should he (that policeman) not have been more thoughtful and compassionate?

(5)The 20 to 30 policemen and security officers present were entirely of no help and they were unable to manage just a few of my emotional female cousins. Had it been the brothers or male friends of the deceased who were emotionally agitated, the situation would have been even more heated and out of control.

(6)Of the 20 of us, there were 15 females, most of which were rational and trying to comfort the emotionally agitated ones. If the police could not effectively handle a few women, would they be able to handle a riot?

(7)Had the police and the hospital staff heeded my advice and considered my concerns that night, there could have been a win-win situation for all of us and this unnecessary tussle would certainly have been avoided.

(8)Should not a professionally trained police force be able to foresee and plan for possible contingency? In the midst of carrying out their duties, the emotions of the public should not be so insensitively disregarded.

(9)Would the outcome be different if the police and hospital had reported the matter to higher authorities? What will the consequences be if the deceased's mother really suffered a heart attack as a result of the heartrending confrontation which has been handled so inconsiderately? ?is this the outcome all parties wish to expect?

(10) On that night, the police and the hospital staff handled the matter thoughtlessly to the extent of using force and authority to wheel the deceased into the operating theatre, despite our cries of objection. They did not take into account the feelings of the deceased's family members; naturally, the family still harbored hope (though announced brain dead, the deceased's heart was still beating g). By such indiscreet actions, the police and hospital had cruelly dashed any hopes the family had left to save the deceased. Their insensitivity and no-room-for-peaceful-settlement approach was the main reason for the cause of this confrontation.

(11) We requested for another night, which is to wait till Wednesday 8pm for the transplant to take place if my cousin did not regain consciousness by then. In fact, our family did not have any objections in donating the organs to needy patients. Moreover, the deceased was a very helpful person when he was alive, and without doubt he would have loved to leave his organs for better use in this world. However, our small request was not acceded to, leading to the ugly situation. May I ask, could what happened that night be avoided if they had displayed more humanity and compassion when communicating with the deceased's family members? The organ transplant officer wanted to help and diffuse the situation but her hands were tied. Wouldn't the situation had been better resolved if someone of a higher authority were around to speak to the deceased's family members?


Chinese Version
警察先生请问你们专业吗？

针对中央医院发生家属与警察冲突事件，让我对我国的警察专业程度有了很大的改观。向来我都很相信政府所说的，我国的警察是一支很专业的部队，都有受过专业的训练，能应付一切的突发事故并在各方面做好准备。

但是那天（2007年2月6日星期二凌晨一点多）我在中央医院所看到的的警察，切是数十年留传下来当警察高人一等的专制做风，不是如政府所说的现代警察要打好警民关系，政府还劝导家长不要以警察吓唬小孩子，来提高现代警察的亲民形象。

可是当晚我所看到的所谓受过现代化专业训练的警察，处事粗糙有几位警察的行为都很粗暴，说话行为很专横、以长官命令式的做风处理事件，而不是以温和劝导的方式说服我们，请问这样的警察如何提高亲民形象？这就是所谓受过专业训练的警察吗？如果是的话我很为我国的前途担忧。

事发当晚的调解过程中，我曾经提出可能出现的问题如下：

(1) 我阿姨（死者母亲）年纪大又有心脏病，如果强行采取行动我阿姨受了刺激，怕会引发心脏病暴发。

(2) 如果我阿姨心脏病暴发，可能会引起子女的情绪失控，而出现无法预料的后果。

(3) 当晚我阿姨和我表妹（死者姐妹）的情绪还相当激动，更不适合以强硬的手段强行处理，恐怕会引起强烈的冲突场面。

(4) 我还向他们指出世界各地的暴动事故，很多时候都是因为很小事故，因情绪无处宣泄，处理不当而引发希望他们了解。

(5) 而且这里是医院，如果引发冲突可能会对其他病人造成影响，希望警方与院方商量考虑后果。

结果在强行采取行动过程中，果真引发冲突，而在冲突过程中，几位警察的行为很粗暴，情绪比我们还激动，并且以命令式的口气喊叫辱骂我的亲戚，什至需要我们去安抚他们冷静下来，还好我们几位男性亲友都很清醒，否则场面可能完全失控，而造成更大事故。

（1） 当晚整10位男警员控制不了我的两位情绪失控的表妹（死者的姐妹），而且拉扯15分钟。（医学研究人在情绪失控下体力可暴增几陪於平时）

（2）冲突过程中我的表弟（死者），届时己被推进了手术室，而我阿姨（死者母亲）跌倒在地上，在走廊外的姐妹向驻守在门外的整10位警察说：我表弟（死者）己被推进手术窒，是否可让我一两位姐妹进去看我阿姨（怕心脏病暴发），但是不被接受，什至有位女警还以命令式的口气叫她住口，一副气势凌人的样子。

（3） 在我的表弟（死者）被强行推进手术室时，驻守在手术室门外的一位警察，还以挑衅式的手式叫我的表妹夫往前冲向他，以制造混乱埸面，请问这是受过专业训练警察的行为吗？

（4） 当晚我表弟（死者）被推进手术室后，我的外甥（15岁）在安抚我表妹情绪时，有位警察还大声喊骂我外甥别吵，而不是温和的鼓励我外甥我安抚表妹，什至我表姐被允许进入房间劝导外甥女时，有位警察还相当激动的叫骂，请问这样的行为对吗？

（5） 当晚在医院内外的2、30位警察与院方警卫，完全无法真正控制我的几位情绪失控的姐妹，如果当晚情绪失控的是我的兄弟或表弟（死者）朋友，那埸面一定很火暴，而警方与院方好像没把它考虑在内。

（6） 当晚我们家属约有20人其中5个男性而其它都是女流之辈，大多数女性亲戚也都很理智的劝导其他几位情绪失控的女性亲戚，警方都无法有效的控制埸面，如果遇到暴动，请问我们的警察是否能应对考验？

（7） 如果警方与院方都有考虑我当晚提出的意见，是否就可平息这不必要的纠纷，正如政府时常强调的两羸局面，而不是双输局面。

（8） 一支专业训练的警察部队，是否应把所有可能会出现的问题都考虑在内，不应忽视当事人的感受认为市井小民人微言轻言不足信。而太过高估自己权力与实力，以至引发不必要的后果？

（9） 当晚如果警方与院方都能向高层汇报局势，是否会有不同的结果？如果当晚我阿姨（死者母亲）心脏病暴发，而引发伤亡事故那是警方与院方所希望看到的结果吗？

（10）当晚警方与院方的处理手段很粗糙，采取强硬行动把脑死还有心跳的表弟(死者)强行推进手术室，没有考虑死者家属的感受（因为死者还有心跳），以至死者家属希望破灭引发情绪失控，是造成冲突事故的主导因素。

（11）我们要求多一天至星期三晚上八点，如果表弟(死者)还是不能苏醒我们就接受院方所说表弟己死，并且答应捐献死者器官造福他人。而且我们也知道死者生前乐於助人，希望在他往生时也能帮助别人遗爱人间，但是我们小小的要求不被接受，以至引发当晚的不愉快场面，请问当晚事故真的是无法避免吗？当晚那位器官移植协调员限于她的职权以至有心无力，但是当晚真的没有一位比较理智的其他决策者吗？
UNQUOTE


How come I have such insider's information? I hear you ask :) Read my previous post.

Oh, I should point out that the closely-knitted family combined all their resources and brainstormed to draft these letters. They sent them to our 146th-ranked newspapers. They were not published.

Bloggers amd forummers, tell me, why are you blogging about the politics and current affairs of this Matrix Island? Is it not because you want to "expose the truth", to provide an alternative view that the "main-stream media" refuse to publish? Is it not because you are for truth and for justice?

If you answer yes, then this is the opportunity. Here is a family that wants help to expose the truth. My blog's traffic is nothing. Some of you have way much higher traffic than me. Some of you post regularly to various online forums. Quote what the family wrote. Provide a link to my blog so that readers can judge the authenticity of the letters for themselves, when they read first-hand the comments that his sister left. Help spread the truth.

Remember how the Matrix Masters initially hid the truth about the commando dunking "murder"? Remember how they eventually had a full investigation leading to a court case, when more and more people exposed the truth on online forums? Help this poor family as you have helped in the other case.

Lest some of you decide that this doesn't concern you, let me remind you again that if it can happen to a politician, it can happen to an ordinary citizen. And since it has already happened to an ordinary citizen, it can happen to you and I and our loved ones. Not the same type of incidents, but some other time, some other place, some other event, yet the same abuse, even when we are completely innocent and totally obedient...

Help spread the truth!

Ok, this is a serious matter. So I will not "play play" with a Matrix quote. Read this:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)