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SINGAPORE – The National University of Singapore (NUS) said on Wednesday (November 4) that it had filed a police report on October 21 on allegations of sexual misconduct in order to comply with its legal obligations.
In response to recent complaints from the two female students who accused the former Tembusu College Don Jeremy Fernando of inappropriate sexual conduct, NUS clarified that it had tried to inform the two female students of their legal duty to file a police report, and managed to reach one of the they.
Both students had told The Straits Times previously that they were unhappy that NUS informed them only after they had made a police report against Dr. Fernando.
At a press conference on October 23, NUS said it had attempted to contact both victims before the police report was made against Dr. Fernando, but was unable to reach one of the victims.
In its last statement on Wednesday, NUS said: “This may have given the impression that we had informed a student that NUS was doing a police report just before we did.
“We would like to clarify that what we had informed the student was that NUS had a legal duty to file a police report, and that it would fulfill this obligation in accordance with NUS policy, if she chose not to. NUS did not do so either. inform the student of when he will present the report “.
A spokesperson said: “We were unable to reach the second student. Prior to this, we had also informed the two students of the option to file their own police reports, given the serious allegations they had made about Dr. Fernando. He contacted both students. after the police report was submitted to update them. “
NUS had previously said that it filed a police report, “given the seriousness of the allegations.” He had also advised the two female students to do the same, although they both chose not to.
The university added that it chose to delay the report in consideration of the students’ mental well-being.
The spokesperson said the university filed the police report to protect its student body in general.
“In presenting this report, NUS takes into consideration our obligations under the law, the need for transparency, and the need to protect the privacy and interests of all parties, including reasonable grounds for delay,” he said.
A police report was “imminent,” given that partial information on the matter was already public, he added, referring to the complaints of the two students who had been reported.
“NUS also has a duty to look after its students in general to ensure campus safety, and we weighed this in our decision to file a report without the prior consent of any of the students. If an allegation has been made, the police would be in the best position to assess whether a crime was committed, ”the spokesman said.
Under article 424 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, any person who has knowledge of the “commission or intention of another person to commit a crime liable to arrest, in the absence of a reasonable excuse”, will immediately provide information to the authorities.
However, lawyers have said that it is not clear that NUS was legally required to make a police report, as various factors could be counted as a “reasonable excuse”. These include the victim’s choice or a professional assessment of whether such an investigation would benefit the victim, and whether the reporting party has sufficient first-hand knowledge of the crime.
NUS received a complaint about Dr. Fernando on August 27. A second complaint was filed on September 7. The university fired him on October 7, as its internal investigations showed that he “had an intimate relationship” with a student, a serious violation of its code. conduct for staff.
He later issued a public statement on October 18, the day Tembusu College staff and students were informed of his dismissal.
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