BloG PoSt 2- Teenage Robber

Article 2 URL:
http://lwb.lawnet.com.sg/legal/lgl/rss/subcourts/52304.html

Recently, teenager Maria Dass was put to a reformative training centre (RTC) after committing two violent taxi robberies. Luckily for him, his 5 year jail term and caning was cut by Judge Rajah.

For his case, his grandmother attributed it to his short fuse and stubbornness which landed him in trouble. Not only that, living in a known gang hangout also caused him to be a bad boy. Dass was also said to be intellectually dull, which may result in him being influenced by his accomplices to rob cabbies.

Furthermore, Dass could not really be that bad, because he knew where his grandmother stashed all her jewellery but did not steal them at all.

Ironically, at first, his family members wanted him to be sentenced to jail instead. A prison term would mean that he would have a black record for life and would hinder him form finding a job in the future. Furthermore, a jail record would illustrate that he was a bad guy and leading to him not being accepted by society. In the end, the family changed their mind because the thought of caning really scared the daylights out of them.

But what intrigues me was why his family members wanted to sent him to jail instead of the RTC. After committing such heinous crimes, being sent to RTC would be considered a god's blessing. From their point of view, I feel that the underlying reason would be effectiveness in correction; considering the fact that Dass's two stints in Boys' Home had not changed him much, and in prison, there are not many people of his age that will lead him astray again. Whereas in RTC, there are many youngsters there convicted of petty crime; they would make Dass's reformation difficult.

This idea to me is quite new, for I have never read before such an unusual case of teenage offenders wanting to go to prison instead of RTC. Maybe, what the family members see is that going to RTC would be a waste of time, and having a black record would not really matter much, because he could help out with the family's grocery shop. I believe, for those who have commited crimes and wanted to reform but are unable to, they feel the same way too.

Personally, I feel that being sent to where does not really affect you much, it all depends on yourself. If Dass was sent to prison, but still hang out with those neighbourhood urchins, then the purpose would be self-defeating. If he went to the RTC and really set his mind on reforming, he would change for good.

Lastly, I feel that the person who I am shape my views, because only then will I be able to understand the whole situation beneath the context. If i just stick to a point of view, I will not know the family's reasons for doing so. This would be one blind spot, so we must put ourselves in other people's shoes and understand them. This would also ensure that students would learn better instead of just knowing the artificial content.

500 words