Transgender woman allegedly raped in IMH, NHG invokes 377A against her

Transgender woman allegedly raped in IMH, NHG invokes 377A against her

The Independent - Singapore·2021-03-17 18:00

Singapore — A transgender woman who filed a civil suit against the National Healthcare Group (NHG), alleging she was raped in the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), has had her suit dismissed.

Moreover, the NHG lawyers invoked Section 377A against the transgender woman Vickreman Harvey Chettiar.

Section 377A says a man who commits or attempts to commit any “act of gross indecency” with another man can be jailed for up to two years.

Harvey filed the suit against NHG because it owns the Institute of Mental Health.

Her case was reported by We Who Witness, a non-governmental organisation, in a Facebook post.

Photo: Facebook screengrab/ We Who Witness

In an Instagram post she shared with queer.sg in 2020, Harvey wrote:  “In 2014, I was arrested for alleged terrorism-related offences. Normally people are released on bail but as I have Asperger’s Syndrome, I was remanded in IMH for 11 days awaiting a psychiatric report. I was detained together with male prisoners because I was assigned male at birth, despite being anatomically intersex and female presenting. That was when I was sexually assaulted by an inmate named Syafik.

‘”He has escaped justice for more than 6 years now. 6 whole years. Things had gotten so bad that I spent $5000 on a private investigation to get some closure.”

We Who Witness provided a full timeline of the events leading up to the current happenings.

Photo: Facebook screengrab/ We Who Witness

Harvey, who was acquitted of her original charge in 2016, decided to lodge a police report about the sexual assault. However, the police report closed without investigation, and Harvey could only file a civil suit against the National Healthcare Group (NHG) for negligence and vicarious liability.

NHG’s lawyers argued that Harvey was unfit to represent herself because of “an abnormality of mind,” citing, in particular, her gender identity “disorder”. Subsequently, NHG’s lawyers also invoked Section 377A, which means that although she alleged she was raped, she was accused of “engaging” in a criminal act.

She is now seeking a pro bono lawyer to take on her case and argue against an Order of Costs, which will require her to pay up to $597,000 in legal costs that the NHG accumulated, says the Facebook post. This sum would leave her bankrupt and lacking access to hormones and other needs.

Singapore