Are “all sex crimes in Singapore” committed by individuals who came in via CECA?

By April 19, 2021 Courtroom, Society

We came across this post on Facebook:

The author of the post claims that he noticed that “all sex crimes in Singapore [have been] perpetrated by Ceca”.

For context, ‘CECA’ is the abbreviation for the India – Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, a trade agreement that came into force 1 August 2005. However, the term has in recent times been used by certain netizens as a slur when referring to Indian nationals who have moved to Singapore.

This particular claim we’re highlighting unfortunately isn’t unprecedented, given that we have done several fact-checks recently with regard to claims made about CECA and the individuals linked to it – one on a ‘CECA youth’ planning an attack on two mosques, another on Temasek Holdings’ new CEO, another on the number of overseas Indians in Singapore, and one about the perpetrator in a recent maid abuse incident.

There are a few commenters who have called out the author for making an inflammatory statement without proper evidence:

However, it is still unsettling that there are quite a number who have not just agreed with the author, but even attributed the allegations to culture and genetics:

Even without checking on reported sex-related crimes, it is already highly improbable that all of such cases can be attributed to individuals from a certain group. Regardless, a quick check on The Straits Times, TODAY, and CNA on the latest reported sex-related crimes already prove that the author’s statement is erroneous.

These are the latest sex-related crimes reported on TODAY:

In the cases where the perpetrator was identified (here, here, here, here, and here), the individuals were neither Indian nationals or even of Indian ethnicity. In those where the perpetrator was not identified (here, here and here), there is also no evidence to suggest either.

Therefore, the claim that “all sex crimes in Singapore [have been] perpetrated by Ceca” is false.

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