🇸🇬 🇵🇭 Boys behaving badly

Hello friends!

Updates today from Singapore and the Philippines where two curious stories piqued my interest. Also a few updates below from Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. Again, no nice stories today but hopefully some good news in the region soon.

See you Wednesday,

Erin Cook

🇸🇬 OnlyFans has no fans in Singapore

Titus Low’s case hasn’t received quite as much attention as other freedoms cases and I’m going to make up for that by following closely. He is an OnlyFans content creator and is Singapore’s most prominent on the platform, VICE reports. Porn production is, as you can imagine, illegal in Singapore but like so many tech developments before it, OnlyFans skirted authorities for a while before getting on the radar. 

Low was arrested in December last year and while under investigation was ordered not to upload any more material to the site. He soon reset the passwords and got back to work, the police found out and warned him again and locked the account. Again, he reset the passwords and posted more content. “He deeply regrets it. He admits he was naive and did not fully appreciate the gravity of his actions,” lawyer Kirpal Singh said. 

He’s heading to jail now for three weeks for defying the police order and has been hit with an SGD$3,000 fine over the content. 

But what is super fishy to me, and what the defence has relied on, is that the original complaint was made by someone who discovered the content on their 12-year-old niece’s phone. “In all likelihood, a subscriber would have captured Titus’s images and videos on his or her own mobile and then shared it. It would have then permeated through the internet and unfortunately ends up in a minor’s mobile phone. This was really unfortunate. Based on OnlyFans’ platform, there was nothing that Titus could have done to prevent someone capturing his videos or images in that manner,” Singh said.

And that! Could be a legal nightmare, Singh said, as reported by BBC. “I think the message is quite clear that authorities are prepared to convict those who transmit explicit material not just on the OnlyFans platform but on the whole spectrum [of online areas],” he said. Singapore has made great strides with its concerted effort in stamping out revenge porn and sexual harassment via carriage service. Is sending a salacious picture via Instagram DM covered by this? What’s porn anyway! The police know it when they see it.

🇵🇭 Drug case embroils Justice Sec

Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III was arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly importing 893.9 grams of high-grade marijuana from California to his Las Piñas City home. He faces life imprisonment. This would be a non-event for much of the Philippines, let alone the region if it weren’t that the 38-year-old’s father is Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. “A person should always face the consequences of their actions and I will let justice take its own course,” dad said in a hand-written statement to the media. 

“The fact that the honourable secretary of justice has clearly stated that they will not interfere in any way, I guess that would allow the prosecutors a free hand in handling this case and we have faith in the justice system that it will work based on the rule of law,” PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon told CNN Philippines. 

All well and good, says House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro, but already there are questions about special treatment. Remulla Sr wasn’t in the country when the arrest happened but was informed early on. But what really galls is that young Remulla had not been subjected to a drug test or the mortifying perp walk drug suspects are subjected to in the Philippines. Very fair cop. 

🇰🇭 Horror boat accident in Cambodia

At least 10 schoolchildren have died in a horror boat sinking in Cambodia’s Kandal province. According to VOD English, the children lived on an island in the river and were returning home after classes. The children, aged between 12 and 14, crowded into the front of the boat, according to the operator, and the boat was very old and had no life jackets. The weather seemed just fine. I’m struck by how young the operator, 23, and his assistant, 15, also are. 

🇮🇩 Another ‘trial of the century’ in Indonesia

The trial of Ferdy Sambo, the former Indonesian police general, begins today! He’s accused of overseeing a plot to murder his bodyguard Nopryansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27. Sambo initially said the brigadier had been killed in a shootout but an autopsy revealed signs of torture, per Reuters. Sambo, his wife, two other police officers and a driver all face charges for the plot. This story has been enormous in Indonesia and will continue to be for some time yet.

🇹🇭 No love lost for drug users, poll finds

A poll conducted just days after the massacre of a daycare facility in northeastern Thailand where drugs have become a focal point finds there’s little hope of popular support for progressive drug policy. According to the Bangkok Post, the Narcotics Act assumes at least in theory users are “sick persons” — a view 64% of respondents disagree with. A very slim majority — 50.15% — believe the law should punish users and that users would inevitably become dealers. Not everyone disagreed: 20.31% totally agreed that those who use drugs are “sick” while another 15.57% moderately agree. 

The Guardian spoke with senior nurse Julanit Janchomphoo, who works at the nearby Nong Bua Lamphu hospital. She says there are options for treatment but getting to that stage is hard. It’s even harder to help people who have sought treatment stick to the program: “If you go back to the same environment, it’s so easy to get back into the circle.” Bangkok-based NGO worker Nantaphol Chuenchooklin fears the tragedy will inspire harsher treatment of users, particularly those outside of Bangkok. “Poor people are easier to take advantage of. If you really want to fix this problem, you should focus on police reform.”

This story from the Guardian is very good. Worth reading in full, particularly on the gun issues.