Organised Mob Violence in Indonesia in the Name of Islam...

I love Indonesia. It is my second home. My wife, Dyah, is Indonesian and my son, Will, will always be aware of his Indonesian heritage. So, it is with a heavy heart that I read stories of religious intolerance and organised mob violence and murder in the name of religion. In this case the religion is Islam. Heinous acts of gratuitous mob violence of this kind is a stain on all those good Indonesians who are peaceful, tolerant, accepting, and respectful of difference. After all, the state ideology relies on the very idea of unity in diversity; the idea that there is a oneness to the Republic of Indonesia in spite of the vast differences of the peoples that make her.

The government has wavered on its commitment to pluralism and religious tolerance. It has been wavering for a long time as it panders to ultra-conservative religious elements for reasons best known to those responsible. What is certain is that this pandering has allowed the government to avoid its constitutional responsibility to protect religious freedom in Indonesia. This failure has led to the Indonesian Council of Ulemas declaring the followers of the Ahmadiyah tradition a heretical sect. The consequences of this decision and the failure of the government to step in and clarify that there is such a concept as religious freedom in Indonesia, has led to murderous violence on a number of occasions. Most recently, today.

In the Cikeusik district of Pandeglang in West Java a mob of some 500 or more decided that they did not like the presence of some Ahmadiyah followers in their midst. These goons then set out to rectify the situation. That rectification was the destruction of the Ahmadi's place of worship and the subsequent murder of at least three people. These three were then strung up in a tree in front of their place of worship as a warning to other Ahmadis not to mess with the people of Cikeusik.

It is hard for those of us with some knowledge of US history not to see the similarities to the lynchings of African-Americans that occurred in the south at generally at the hands of those who were active members or sympathisers of the Ku Klux Klan or KKK.

There is no justification for the murder of these three individuals. The perpetrators are unlikely to be ever prosecuted because of the nature of the mob attack. Yet, there needs to be justice, there needs to be punishment. Perhaps if this was, as it seems, an organised attack, then perhaps those behind the scenes that organised it and incited the violence must be found and held accountable.

It was bizarre to read that a spokesperson for the Cikeusik district was arguing that this was an instance of self-defense as the Ahmadis attacked the mob of 500 with sharp weapons. I wonder who the numbers favoured in this contest?

The reality is that Indonesians need to know that their government and their law enforcement agencies are not going to sit idly by while a select few destroy Indonesia from within.

It is not too much for Indonesians to ask that their leaders have some testicular and ovarian fortitude and come out in no uncertain terms and condemn the violence. It is also not too much to ask that the perpetrators be found and punished to the full extent of the law.

What will be SBY's legacy?

Facebook, Cafe World, and Addiction...

This is a truly sad story. A mother, Shannon Johnson, in Colorado has admitted to police that she was busy playing Cafe World on Facebook, checking out her news feed, and sharing a few online videos while her one-year-old son was drowning in the bath.

According to Johnson's confession, her son was in the bath for a total of ten minutes, and she checked on him once. Then, when she did not hear any sounds coming from the bathroom she thought she better check again. When she did, she found her son with his face submerged. After that the confession to police gets a little weird. When the police asked her why she would leave her one-year-old in the bath by himself, she reportedly said she:

"didn't want him to be known as a mama's boy."

On a personal level, I find it hard to comprehend. Perhaps I am over-protective or something, but there is no way that Will, even at two-years-old, stays in the bath by himself while I go off to check my email or make a cup of tea or whatever.

Then again, maybe this story says something about the "dangers" of a technology addiction, in this case to Facebook and Cafe World. Just like any other addiction, it has a way of messing with one's priorities and skewing the understanding of what is important.

When one thinks of internet game addictions you normally think of children spending hours or days non-stop on games like "World of Warcraft" (or whatever it is that is popular now). However, it would seem that it is not only children that suffer from this.

In South Korea a couple was found guilty of starving their baby to death. What was truly bizarre in that case was that the couple were raising a virtual child in a video game and doing a reasonable job at it.

I wonder if this is going to become an increasing more acute and severe problem in the future? And, assuming that it is, I wonder how governments are going to deal with internet addiction? Legislation? Counselling?

The mind boggles.

Gun Violence: Enough of a Reason to Restrict Gun Ownership?

The Constitution of the United States of America provides in the Second Amendment the right of her citizens to "keep and bear arms". The US Supreme Court has addressed the issue a number of times and has affirmed that the right extends beyond guns being kept solely for use in a militia (see District of Columbia v. Heller). I do not claim to be a US constitutional law expert, or even a constitutional law expert.

What follows is commentary in light of the recent shooting deaths of six people in Tuscon Arizona recently. The attack occurred at a "meet & greet" the constituents event being held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

I am anti-guns. I do not see the use of them. I have fired the odd gun in the past, but it is just not my thing. I do not enjoy guns. I know many people who do enjoy guns and who make a good case for owning one or two or more. I am not anti-guns in the sense of law enforcement having them. Perhaps I am anti-guns in terms of how easy they are to acquire and how devastating they can be when used for illegal purposes.

I cannot imagine that the founding fathers or the early political masters of the US had in mind the sort of gun violence that afflicts the US now. I am almost certain that the founding fathers did not envisage that the right to own guns would become a right to wreak havoc, despair and death on innocents; men, women and children.

My condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy: U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63; Christina Greene, 9; Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79.U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63; Christina Greene, 9; Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79. I also offer my best wishes for a speedy and full recovery to all those who were injured in this instance of madness and senseless violence.

I have been reading with interest that there are connections being made to the "vitriol" and over-the-top rhetoric, which includes references to gun violence, in the political debate. In my mind this is an associated, but secondary issue. The focus must remain on guns and the ease of access to them.

I wonder if there would be a significant drop in gun-related violence if the rules governing gun ownership were further tightened to a degree that they became incredibly onerous? Or, would this just serve to promote a black market for weapons allowing gun violence to persist?

I would be happy to live in a world without guns. Yet, I am a realist. If we did not have guns then we would kill ourselves with whatever weapons were available. yet, it would probably take a lot longer to kill six people with a bow and arrow in comparison to getting off 20 rounds from an automatic handgun.

Hopefully, this tragedy will spur some debate about guns and gun ownership that will generate a whole lot of bipartisan support that will ultimately see the rules tightened even further. Maybe, it is time that politicians and others stopped trying to hide behind some universal and blanket right allegedly secured by the founding fathers and had a little bit of a think about what the founding fathers were really concerned about when it came to the right to keep and bear arms.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit that the founding fathers and the early political statesmen of the Republic did not have the attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in mind when confirming the Second Amendment as part of a "Bill of Rights".

Necrophilia...

It is a little weird how things appear. I was having a discussion within the past several days about the term necropolis in a historical context, then low and behold I am reading The Jakarta Globe and come across this story of necrophilia in Kediri, East Java.

Anyway, it is a story that I do not recall having heard before in Indonesia. Maybe I have and just cannot recall it. The standard fare has generally been bestiality where lonely men are having their way with an animal or two, goats and cows being the animals of choice.

The story goes that Eko Santoso is a married man of 27. He is married to a young woman of just 19, Tri Wayuni. Tri accused Eko of continuing to sow his wild oats after their marriage with sex workers. Unfortunately, Eko was offended by the suggestion and thought the most appropriate course of action was to strangle his wife, then have sex with her dead body, and then try and cover it all up by hanging her from a fan in their house.

What I do not get is the need to strangle her because of the accusation. I am not sure how that enrages one to the point of murder. I can appreciate that it happens, and it seems to be the way this crime unfolded. However, what I really do not get is how then this reaches a point of defiling the body by having one last round. I guess this is why I am not a psychiatrist.

Maybe I need to read a little more on this subject. I can probably justify it by classifying it as necessary research to teach history subjects. Maybe I could even buy a book on the subject and claim it as a tax deduction.

Is Tommy Soeharto a Murderer?

Tommy Soeharto (aka Hutomo Mandala Putra) has decided that he needs to sue an Indonesian magazine for printing a phrase that in essence says, "Tommy Soeharto is a convicted murderer". The magazine, Garuda",  published the alleged offending phrase in December 2009.

The problem as Tommy sees it is that the article was about his business interests in a resort in Bali, and therefore there is no correlation with any previous actions of his. I thought that "Garuda" was the in-flight magazine that you get when you fly with Garuda.

It would seem that Tommy and his legal representatives have forgotten that he is in fact a convicted murderer. He did ten years for the premeditated assassination of a Supreme Court judge. This, if I am not mistaken, is a fact of life; a fact of Tommy Soeharto's life that he cannot escape.

Nevertheless, Tommy seems to think that he deserves a public apology, and that the apology should be published in a national newspaper. Perhaps at the same time he can instruct his lawyers to place a public apology in the same paper noting his remorse over his criminal activities, including an apology to the family of the judge, Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who he ordered murdered for having the courage to sentence Tommy Soeharto to prison for breaking the law; graft I believe. If not, then Tommy should take his lawsuit and shove it where the sun don't shine. As a matter of fact he should just take his frivolous little suit and shove it where the sun don't shine.

To be perfectly honest, the title of murderer should, and must, follow Tommy wherever he goes.

The original news on this one comes from Detik (in Indonesian).

Anti-Corruption Forces Under Siege -- Indonesia...

I will be wearing my best white outfit in support of this action. I am not sure what difference it will make here in Sydney. Perhaps I can swing around Maroubra way and set up shop out in front of the Indonesian Consulate in my best whites and a sign or something.

It is a sad indictment of Indonesian politics and law enforcement that the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is being slowly but surely set up for dismantling. The KPK has grown into an organization that has had some considerable success. It would seem that this success is the root cause for the animosity that is now prevalent between the KPK and the police and the Office of the Attorney General.

It was an unfortunate and ultimately untimely coincidence that the Head of the KPK found himself embroiled in a over-heating love triangle (perhaps because of his fancy for the old triangle of love) that ended in the murder of his competitor for the triangle of love.

Probably what is even sadder, but simultaneously more interesting, is that the President who campaigned for a first term on a platform of cleanliness or anti-corruption, and then similarly campaigned for a second term on a similar platform all the while toting the successes of the KPK and the great strides Indonesia has made in this area, has remained out of the fray.

In fact, the presidential spokesperson on legal affairs has stated in unequivocal terms that the president is watching but is not going to become involved. In essence, the president is going to let this thing run its course. Presumably even if it means that the KPK is stripped of its powers and ultimately dismantled.

By my reckoning this would be the perfect time for the president to stand up and be counted. If he truly wants to leave a legacy of reform, good governance, and more importantly clean governance, then this is the issue to stand up on. If for nothing else, the man must stand on his principles, and judging by his campaigning and public statements his principles are that anti-corruption is something that he holds dear. Now, if that is true, now would be a good time to prove it.

The idea that the president is going to stand back from this one makes a mockery of all those who argue that having won 60% of the popular vote in the presidential elections that the president has a mandate to force through change. The man seemingly does not have the testicular fortitude to stand up for the one institution that can cement his legacy as a reformer, as a man dedicated to the people who have suffered for so long at the hands of corrupt officials. No, at this rate the president will be remembered as the president who presided over the dismantling of one of the more prominent successes of the reformasi period.

So, get out your white shirts and stand united with those who support the work of the KPK to date and support the idea that the KPK must continue with the ability to do this work into the future.

Viva KPK!

David Carradine Updates...

I am following the David Carradine (photo courtesy of here) death investigation as it is developing into a really interesting case with a supposed suicide becoming a possible murder. A Thai daily has recently published a photo of the supposed death scene at the hotel.

Anyone interested in the updates that I am making can find them as postscripts to the original post.

David Carradine -- RIP

Sad news out of Bangkok, David Carradine (photo courtesy of Tony Metaxas) has died in an apparent suicide. He was 72.

He was in Bangkok shooting his latest film. Most of us will remember him as the wandering Shaolin Master in Kung Fu or as the title character in Kill Bill.

May he rest in peace.

Postscript...

It is being reported that this may not have been a suicide but rather an accident. There are suggestions that this was an auto-eroticism attempt gone wrong. Michael Hutchence was another high profile auto-eroticism victim.

Postscript II...

I have recently read that Carradine's management has raised the possibility that this was a murder. There is gossip floating around that, besides the rope around his neck that was also looped around his genitals, his hands were tied behind his back.

I guess I will just keep following the news and keep adding postscripts.

Postscript III

Here is a link to Thairath, a Thai daily (or here, or here). They have published a photo of the scene, Carradine included, which the police say looks like one of the forensic photos. The Carradine family has demanded that all publication of the image be prohibited. They have also asked for an independent autopsy, and for the FBI to become involved with respect to investigating this as a possible murder.

Postscript IV

It seems that some members of the Carradine family believe that the actor was murdered, or assassinated, by a secret Kung Fu sect that he was about to expose. I am all for a good conspiracy and this has the hallmarks of a good one. Interestingly, there are those that believe that one of the greatest proponents of martial artist to ever grace the silver screen, Bruce Lee, was also murdered / assassinated by a not so secret society known as the triads.

Despite the claims, the Thai police are still sticking to the theory that this was a sex game gone wrong. This would seem to fit into the scenario being put forward that Carradine had a history of "deviant" sexual behaviour.

Secret Warrants and Secret Searches

The NSW Police Force have hit the jackpot on this one. A change to the law is going to allow police to apply for a secret warrant, conduct a secret search, and then inform the target of the warrant and search some three years later. In that funny in a perverse kind of a way, the police powers as they relate to criminal activity such as murder, computer crimes, corruption, money laundering, and sexual offenses, among others, are much broader than they are for crimes such as terrorism.

I am all for reducing and eliminating crime. I am also all for the protection of people's civil liberties and basic human rights. It might be a fine balance that needs to be struck, but it is a balance that must be found and so struck. It is outrageous in my mind that police can covertly search your home and property without your knowledge. And, that they can do it impersonating someone else, such as an electrician or something.

The problem as I see it is that a covert search is going to be sans independent supervision of the process. This is undoubtedly going to lead to claims of the planting of evidence. Running a video camera is hardly going to be a convincing mechanism to prove that the searchers were at all times being videoed. I would much prefer that warrants be served and the target of that warrant be allowed to watch what happens as there home and property is searched.

It is a scary thought that people unknown to you and without your knowledge can be in your home and rifling through your property, and doing God knows what.

The warrants do have some restrictions. The offense must carry a maximum prison term of seven years. The warrants can only be issued by designated Supreme Court judges, and the judge must be convinced that the evidence sort is going to be found in the premises or on the property searched within 10 days of the warrant being issued.

Nevertheless, it is an extraordinary power considering most people would consider their home their castle and as such free from covert searches.

These are indeed interesting times that we live in.

Facebook -- Relationship Status

Social networking has become a feature of our daily lives for many of us. Some might call it an addiction others a necessary evil and others see it as an essential business and marketing tool. I am a Facebook user. I became a Facebook user because my high school reunion last year used it as a means of communicating and tracking down members of the class of 1987.

Facebook has plenty of interesting features for users to exploit. One of these is the ability to note your relationship status. You can pretty much be any status that takes your fancy. However, this is not necessarily all fun and games. Some users take this seriously. The beauty of Facebook is that changes are instantaneous and your "friends" are sure to note any change in your status.

Now, in a tragic case in the UK a man murdered his wife in a "frenzied and brutal" knife attack because she changed her Facebook status from "Married" to "Single". The man has now been sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Perhaps one needs to think carefully before changing their Facebook relationship status.

Gun Crime in the US -- Murders by Children

I am not a gun owner and I am not intending to be one. I respect the right of people to own guns. Nevertheless, I really do not see the point in owning one. If the laws were such that all guns were illegal except in the hands of police officers, security guards, and the armed forces, then perhaps there would be a lot less gun crime.

However, this story about an eight-year-old in Arizona who is alleged to have murdered his father and another man and that the murders were pre-meditated beggars belief. The initial arguments in any case that involves an eight-year-old killing someone would be whether the child has the legal capacity to understand the consequences of their actions. However, if the murders were pre-meditated then it seems reasonable to assume that the kid had given some thought to this and planned it out.

The case is going to be interesting for the legal arguments as for how an eight-year-old becomes a killer. It is already being suggested by the child's lawyer that the child was questioned by police and confessed without parental or legal representation. This, if true, should see the confession tossed at any subsequent trial. However, before one even gets to a trial, there will need to be psych evaluations and other determinations made as to whether the child even has the capacity to be put on trial.

Two lives lost and a child in jail accused of their pre-meditated murder -- tragic.

OJ Simpson -- Life in Jail?

OJ Simpson will be remembered by most as the bloke that got away with murder. This is in spite of stellar athletic achievements such as winning the Heisman Trophy as the best football player in the college ranks and his pro-football career. It is also in spite of a not so stellar movie career although he was known for his work in movies too.

In a trial that played out with much less fanfare than his murder trial, OJ Simpson and his partner in crime, Clarence Stewart, were found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. These charges and now the conviction hold the possibility of a life in jail for Simpson. Many might argue it is about time.

The sentencing is not listed until 5 December 2008. The judge, Jackie Glass, rejected a bail application so it seems that Simpson is destined to spend the time from now until sentencing in jail. The defense has indicated that they will be lodging an appeal. It will be interesting to see what grounds they intend to advance in support of the appeal.

It seems that Simpson is going to pay a high price for his notoriety and his stupidity in being part of an armed robbery to reclaim sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. If someone has stolen something from you and you know where it is then it would make sense that you call the local law enforcement officers to come in and take care of it. Most people would not think to form a posse and then take the law into their own hands.

This case turned with the testimony of Simpson's cohorts in the crime. Four of the posse turned State's evidence and struck plea deals and testified against Simpson. The provided their testimony to police long before any of them struck lucrative media deals to spill the beans publicly on Simpson. The defense however tried to paint the four as money grubbing hangers on looking to capitalize on their infamy in a financial way.

It seems that Simpson will do jail time this time around. Many will be hoping for a lengthy jail term. I guess we will find out on 5 December 2008 how much time. This might not be the justice that the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were looking for, but one hopes that there is some small degree of relief for them that Simpson may finally be going to jail albeit for another crime.

OJ Simpson

I just watched this program on OJ Simpson on the Australia Network here in Indonesia. It had interviews with all the players in the trial with regards to the defense team and a lot of the news people involved as well. It was a really interesting program.

There were lots of interesting questions posed on race, race relations, police, fabricating evidence, the role of defense counsel in defending guilty clients, and the main one, did he do it?

The two questions that I was most interested in were the last two. As a lawyer who has worked in criminal defense it is an interesting question to ponder with regards to defending guilty clients. There are plenty of strategies for defending a client. I generally ask my clients if they did it. If they say, no, then that is the end of it. I construct the defense strategy based on the assumption that the client is innocent of the charges being alleged.

If a client answers by saying, yes, then the strategy requires careful considerations in terms of ethical obligations. A defense lawyer must not advance an alternative scenario where they know that the scenario is not possible.

It is worth remembering that it is the prosecution in an adversarial system that must prove the case. The defense's main job is to highlight that there is reasonable doubt in the case being made by the prosecution that would render a guilty verdict unjust. It is not the defense's obligation to prove the prosecutions case for them.

Onto the biggest question of them all, did OJ do it?

Yes.

Corby and Indonesian Independence Day

Indonesian prisoners not on death row get to avail themselves of a generous remissions system that allows for up to six months to be sliced off your sentence twice a year. Unfortunately, last year Corby missed out on the remissions because she was caught in possession of a mobile phone. However, this year she has had no such infringements of the rules and is reportedly in line for a three-month remission.

In the grand scheme of things a three-month remission on a 20-year sentence does not seem much. However, over the years these remissions add up. If one needs any proof just ask Tommy Soeharto who managed to serve just over half of his 15-year sentence for organizing the murder of a Supreme Court judge. It is interesting that Corby gets 20 years for smuggling some weed and Tommy only gets 15 years for the premeditated killing of a man. This is another post topic I guess.

The three-month remission remains a recommendation at this stage. Generally, though one remission recommendations are made it is just a matter of going through the motions to formalize them. There is nothing to suggest that Corby will be denied the recommended remission.

Corby has seemed to be struggling of late on both the emotional and physical fronts. I have written about this in other posts elsewhere in this blog. So, the idea of having three months shaved off your sentence should be good news for her and her family.

I imagine this is what life will be like for Corby for the next few years, rolling from one remission to the next.

What Makes A Killer?

This is a story out of Canada and involves a bus, 37 passengers, one of whom is a killer, and one is a victim. What makes this story interesting is the location of the crime and the complete randomness that seems to permeate it.

The killing was a frenzied attack that resulted in multiple stab wounds, a beheading, and the allegations of flesh eating. The allegation of flesh eating would seem to be true as it was made by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who was on the scene at the time and relaying information back to other officers.

The RCMP have since issued a statement saying it was aware that the radio transmission had been leaked to the Internet and said that the tape itself was "operational police communications and not meant for public consumption". I am not sure that a pun was intended here.

RCMP officers responded to a call on a remote stretch of the TransCanada Highway near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, after reports of a killing on a Greyhound bus travelling from Edmonton, Alberta to Winnipeg, Manitoba were reported.

The killer, Vince Weiguang Li, is alleged to have killed Tim McLean. An official identification has not been released but friends and family of McLean have identified him as the victim. McLean's death was as violent as it appears random. Li hacked off McLean's head after a frenzied stabbing attack that involved dozens of stab wounds. Witnesses are saying that they were alerted to the attack by a blood-curdling scream, presumably from the McLean. Most of the passengers were sleeping or watching a movie having just re-boarded the bus after a short break.

What is truly weird about the attack is that the alleged killer, Li, is being spoken about as a kind down to earth man without any previous indications that he was prone to this kind of violent rage. By all accounts he was a simple paper delivery man looking to better his lot in life.

I wonder what makes a seemingly nice person all of a sudden turn into a violent flesh-eating killer?

This is no doubt worthy of further research.

Samir Qantar -- Hailed A Hero

Samir Qantar (pictured) was Lebanon's longest serving prisoner incarcerated in Israel. Qantar was the biggest beneficiary of a prisoner swap and the exchange of remains that has been recently completed. Samir Qantar was a young 17-year-old when he was sentenced to five life terms for committing triple murder. One of Qantar's victims was a 4-year-old child.

As I have posted previously there is no excuse for the killing of a child. This does not change when the killer is a 17-year-old youth. At 17 you already know the difference between right and wrong and you would know that killing a 4-year-old is wrong.

Qantar has returned home to Aabey, southeast of Beirut, to a hero's welcome. It would seem that Qantar's political passion and love of the struggle has not dwindled after almost 29 years in prison. In fact Qantar remains proud and has no regrets or remorse for his actions and said the following, "I feel enormous joy because I have returned to the ranks of the resistance and to my family." Not missing a beat it seems his first change of clothes was to don a Hezbollah military uniform.

Qantar is being hailed as a hero whenever his name is mentioned, Lebanese are sacrificing lambs in his honour,and people are claiming that "Samir Kantar is the son of all the Lebanese".

It is a strange move on Hezbollah's part to be quite so vocal in claiming victory and Qantar being so vocal in his pride with respect to killing a child. My guess is that Qantar will be killed in a pre-emptive missile attack or some other military strike or assassinated in some other manner.

I watched the film "Munich" recently. I suspect that as most films do some liberties were taken with the story to make it into a movie script. However, even if a smidgeon of it is true then Qantar must be wary of what is coming his way. There will definitely be no peace for Qantar and he will not grow old while he is being stalked by Mossad. Sooner or later the game will be up. He might have in fact been safer in an Israeli prison.

I reiterate, child killers like Qantar are not heroes. It makes no difference whether he committed this crime as a 16, 17, or 30 year old. There is no honour in killing children and the murder of children must not be what the resistance is about!

Career Criminals In The Making

Here are some statistics that make you wonder about the parenting skills of some Australians. To be fair it might not be the parents per se, it might just be the case that these youngsters are beyond the control of parents who may feel like they have tried everything and still not managed to bring their children into some kind of respectable line.

NSW police are apprehending, on average, more than 50 children per week for sexual and other assaults, theft, armed robbery, drug dealing, and murder. What is even more scary in these statistics is that during the period from 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2007 some 7,724 offences were recorded by children under the age of 10. This is one of those moments where you close your eyes and go, "what?"

The statistics were obtained by News Ltd under a Freedom of Information request and show one murder by a 10-year-old, 1,109 assaults and 141 sexual assaults, including 31 by 8-year olds. At 8 years old I cannot even recall if I was thinking about girls let alone wanting to be involved in a sexual assault. I cannot even remembering wanting to assault anyone at that age. I mean the closest I might have come to an assault conviction could have been a punch up or two in high school. But most of the violence I was involved in was good wholesome fun on the rugby field and this was generally referred to as a crunching tackle.

Yet, the craziness continues as the statistics also highlight that there were 584 driving offences, of which 113 were by 8-year olds.

The question is what to do about this worsening juvenile crime wave as for those that are aged of 10 might get a Children's Court date which for first time offenders generally results in a slap on the wrist (this is the case for second and third time offenders as well depending on the offence).

However, for those under the age of 10 the current practice is to call in the parents, lecture the child on the evil of their ways and where this type of conduct will lead them and then release them back into the custody of their parents. Sometimes the Department of Community Services (DoCS) might become involved. Yet, DoCS are woefully under-funded and under-staffed as some of their more recent and public failings highlight.

Former Children's Court magistrate Barbara Holborow said, "I don't know whether it's because so many parents are working by necessity, loss of parents' rights, poor discipline at home or whatever, but something is wrong," ya think? no kidding!

Tragic Irony -- Pat Regan

This story is as tragic as it is ironic. Pat Regan was an anti-knife and anti-gun campaigner and it is tragically ironic that she has been found stabbed to death. Even more ironic is that her 20 year old grandson is being held on suspicion of being the person responsible for the murder.

Pat Regan became heavily involved in a movement aimed at restricting access to knives and guns as a means of making streets safer. The shooting death of her son was the tipping point for this involvement and it lead to her founding an organization called Mothers Against Violence.

Her work in promoting the anti-violence message has been recognized and acknowledged by the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair. This work has also been recognized by Princess Anne.

Pat Regan may you rest in peace!