Gag orders imposed consistently - to protect alleged victims

We refer to the letter by Dr Yik Keng Yeong (Why no gag order on identity of doctors in sex offence cases?, Sept 5), in which he states that there is an apparent bias against doctors in the imposition of gag orders by the courts.

The purpose of a gag order is to protect the identity of the alleged victim so as to avoid or minimise further trauma to him or her. 인터넷카지노

The gag order extends to the protection of the name of the accused only in cases where revealing the name of the accused could lead to identification of the alleged victim, for example, where the alleged victim and accused are related, or are otherwise closely connected.

Our legal system operates on the principle of open justice. This means that accused persons are publicly tried, and their identities are not protected except in narrow exceptions where it could lead to the identification of an alleged victim and cause re-victimisation by unnecessary publicity.

This principle applies whether the accused is a doctor, or any other person. Contrary to what Dr Yik has said, there is no bias against doctors, whether apparent or real.

The authorities can do more to ensure that organisations conduct their business fairly, and inform the public if they do not do so.

Here are some cases in point.

Some telecom operators do not inform a consumer who is on, say, a 2GB monthly data plan when he has reached the limit.

The consumer may not know he has used additional data until he gets his bill at the end of the month.

One telco that makes sure customers are not caught unawares is Circles.Life. It will not proceed further from a subscribed plan unless the consumer says so.

Another example: Some banks offer higher interest rates on "fresh funds" as a marketing promotion. This excludes the money you already have in the bank. It is only when a customer threatens to withdraw all his money that the bank may consider his funds "fresh". 카지노사이트주소

Another unfair banking practice is to revert the interest rate of fixed deposits to board rate, which is usually lower, upon their maturity even though the promotion is ongoing. Unless the customer visits the bank on the deposit's maturity date, he will not continue to enjoy the promotional rate. This is deceitful on the part of the bank.

More proactive steps should be taken to ensure that organisations do not take advantage of consumers.