What is considered as harrassment in Singapore?

Question

My ex-husband has been sending me text messages stating, implicity or explicity, that I don't make a good mother. How can I make him stop??

He has access to the child. Can't cut off communication with him.

Answer 1

change your cell phone number.

Answer 2

Maybe talk it over with him first and get him to stop right now (give him a warning) as hes afterall your child's biological father and you won't want things to go ugly (like taking legal actions against him) unless necessary right, because if you and him get into a fix, the real victim that will be affected here will be your child as hes too young to understand all these and seeing you guys at odds with each other all the time, your child would be unhappy too and he will grow up having a bad childhood shadow if not handled properly.

However, if your ex-husband still sends you such messages even after you have warned him, go ahead and sue him in court! :)

Contact Legal Aid (please see first link) if you are too broke for a lawyer and also remember to print out all the discriminating messages that he had sent you as evidence to the judge and jury that these messages have been affecting your overall performance at work and is causing harm to your mental health (get a psychiatrist to examine you and write you a report)

Meanwhile, change a new handphone number and do not give him your new telephone no. and tell your phone operator to block his no. or apply any other functions that will be useful (for ex. Singtel has a function called "Call Reject" which prevents unwanted calls from specific phone numbers and block calls from the last caller's number and gives you peace and quiet from nuisance calls and junk faxes) - please see 2nd link below!

I highly recommend another excellent Singtel function called "Caller Number Non-Display" (please see last link!) such that it can prevent your phone number from being displayed on the called party's handphone and has an option to display your phone number selectively so that you can call your husband in case of an emergency but he will not know your new hand phone number! Then, since he doesnt know your new handphone number, he cannot send you any of such messages anymore! :) Hope this helps and wishing you good luck here, hopefully it will be the end of all your troubles! :)

Answer 3

From what you describe, I cannot at this moment think of any criminal offences which your ex-husband might have committed. If he did not go around telling your friends and relatives about his opinions of you, there are no grounds for criminal defamation. If his messages do not threaten the safety of you or your family, he has also not committed anything in relation to intimidation.

The best solution would be to complain to your mobile service provider about his behaviour and make it clear to them that if they do not help you find a solution, you will switch to a provider that can.

Another solution would be to engage a lawyer and take him to Civil Court for alleged mental harassment. This is however, an expensive solution and there are no guarantees that it will succeed.

Answer 4

Under Sec 13B of MISCELLANEOUS OFFENCES ACT

(1) Any person who in a public place or in a private place —

(a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour; or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting,

within the hearing or sight of any person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

But for your case, probably you could lodge a complain to the Telecomunication, they will write a warning letter to him on that matter. If still no improvement, his line can be cut off.

Answer 5

You've got to stand up for yourself! Tell him that your sick of his sh!tty attitude and can't stand how imature he's being! I have no tolarance for people like that, and you shouldn't, either. He's acting like a 12 year old! And most important, DON'T believe a thing he says. He knows that HE's the bad father, and can't stand that you're better than him. If you got custodial custody over him, when he only has joint custody, the judge must've thought you were a helluva lot better parent than him. If, after you tell him to stop, he continues, call the cops and tell them what's going on. They could give him a temporary restraining order.

Answer 6

Tell him his mother isn't a good mother by the way she's raised him. Girl, cuss him out and don't believe what he says he's just mad.