The authorities will be considering how offenders such as mixed martial arts instructor Joshua Robinson, who had sex with two underage girls, may be "dealt with more severely through higher penalties", said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam yesterday . 
 
 His remarks follow the Attorney-General's Chambers' statement that the public prosecutor will not appeal against Robinson's four-year jail term. The 39-year-old American pleaded guilty to having unprotected sex with two 15-year- old girls and showing an obscene video to a six-year-old. 
 
 His sentencing last Thursday sparked strong public reactions, with the father of the six-year-old expressing disappointment online. A petition calling for harsher punishment was also started on Sunday. 
 
 "I can understand people's unhappiness," said Mr Shanmugam, who is on a working trip in Australia. In a statement in response to media queries, he added that Robinson's offences were "more serious" than a range of other cases involving sex with underage girls. He cited the cases of an 18-year-old youth who had sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend, and that involving 51 men who were charged with having sex with an underage prostitute. They were jailed for between four and 20 weeks each, he said. 
 
 "I have asked my officials to consider what approaches are necessary for offenders like Robinson to be dealt with more severely through higher penalties," said Mr Shanmugam. 
 
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 RESPECT DECISION In our system, decisions on prosecution, sentence to ask for, and appeals, are all within the discretion of the AGC. We need to respect the decision of AGC. HOME AFFAIRS AND LAW MINISTER K. SHANMUGAM 
 
 Currently, as the sex was consensual, the law does not provide for caning. He added that the original decision was "cleared at the highest levels - by the previous A-G himself, based on precedents from previous cases". 
 
 "In our system, decisions on prosecution, sentence to ask for, and appeals, are all within the discretion of the AGC. We need to respect the decision of AGC," he said. 
 
 "I do think that the sentences for such offences committed by Robinson need to be relooked at. That is why I have asked my ministries to study this," he added. 
 
 But he said it is premature to reveal what penalties are being considered. ||||| Wow... 4 years of jail without caning for a pedophile?! 
 
 READ ABOUT THIS SEXUAL PREDATOR'S CASE HERE. 
 
 Is this the message our Singapore Government People's Action Party is intending to send worldwide: "Spray paint our city or slander our government officials and you get it worse off than if you rape and sexually abuse our children"? 
 
 Pedophiles will come from far and wide to take advantage of such an incredibly erroneous measure of justice!! 
 
 As a parent and an early childhood educator advocating for the voiceless in our country (and children everywhere, with the fact that upon release this pedophile could be anywhere around the world, abusing his mixed martial arts trainer's credentials) I find this unacceptable and absolutely intolerable. Unfortunately, the 6 year old in this traumatic case is a daughter of a close friend and it absolutely breaks my heart and those of all our friends and family. 
 
 TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS AND WISHES TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN AS A PARENT, A GRANDPARENT, AN UNCLE OR AUNT, AN EDUCATOR ... PLEASE JOIN THIS PETITION TO THE PRIME MINISTER, ATTORNEY GENERAL CHAMBERS AND THE MINISTER OF LAW TO SEEK A REDRESS OF THE SENTENCE FOR THIS SEXUAL PREDATOR JOSHUA ROBINSON. 
 
 "Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil" ~ Elie Wiesel 
 
 I WILL NOT STAND INDIFFERENT. NO MORE. Will you? ||||| Singapore is considering harsher punishments for sex offences against minors, the law minister said, after a US martial arts instructor was jailed for four years for having consensual sex with two 15-year-olds, prompting a rare public outcry. 
 
 Wow ... four years of jail without caning for a paedophile?! 
 
 Sarah Woon, who started petition 
 
 Consensual sexual intercourse with minors of 14 and above carries a maximum jail term of 10 years or fine or both in Singapore. The legal age of consent is 16. 
 
 Joshua Robinson, 39, was convicted last week of the sex acts, which he had filmed, and for showing child pornography to a six-year-old. 
 
 Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of four to five years and a S$20,000 (US$14,200) fine. They said they were not planning to appeal. 
 
 “I have asked my officials to consider what approaches are necessary for offenders like Robinson to be dealt with more severely through higher penalties,” Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a statement late on Wednesday. 
 
 Shanmugam added that he could “understand that having taken a position in court... it is difficult for AGC (Attorney-General Chambers) to now appeal”. 
 
 An online petition on www.change.org calling for a “harsher sentence in Singapore for paedophile Joshua Robinson” drew more than 28,000 signatures. Petitions are rare in Singapore where state institutions benefit from strong public support. 
 
 “Wow ... four years of jail without caning for a paedophile?!” said the petition started by Sarah Woon, a friend of a woman whose daughter was shown pornographic films by Robinson. 
 
 Singaporean woman acquitted of sex assault on a minor due to ‘men-only’ law 
 
 Robinson’s lawyer, Mervyn Tan, declined to comment on the case before March 15, when the deadline for an appeal expires. Last year, parliament passed a controversial contempt of court law which set penalties for publishing material that interferes with ongoing procedures or alleges bias on the part of judges. Offenders can be fined up to S$100,000 and jailed for up to three years. ||||| Image copyright YouTube Image caption US Mixed Martial Arts instructor Joshua Robinson was jailed four years on child sexual assault charges, a sentence being criticised by Singaporeans for being too light 
 
 There is public anger in Singapore over what is seen as a too lenient sentence for a US child sex offender. 
 
 US Mixed Martial Arts instructor Joshua Robinson, 39, was jailed for four years last week for having sex with two teenage girls and filming the acts. 
 
 Officers also seized thousands of illegal pornographic films from his flat, including 321 featuring children, the largest haul ever in Singapore. 
 
 A petition was launched calling the sentence "absolutely intolerable". 
 
 For each charge of having sex with a minor, Robinson could have been jailed in Singapore for up to 10 years and fined. 
 
 But on Wednesday, Singapore's Public Prosecutor said it would not be appealing for a harsher sentence. It said the two 15-year-old victims had "consented to the sexual acts", meaning the sentence was appropriate. 
 
 Videos uncovered at home 
 
 Specialising in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Robinson had been living in Singapore for about six years. 
 
 He was well-known in the MMA community, and had previously been chosen to appear in a state campaign for Contact Singapore, a local employment body promoting expat talent. 
 
 The court heard that he had met one of the teenagers on a dating app in early 2015. After months of exchanging messages, they met up in person and he brought her back to his apartment where he filmed them having intercourse. 
 
 Unaware of the video, the girl then informed her parents about the assault and they lodged a police report. 
 
 Robinson was arrested in June 2015. A police raid uncovered thousands of obscene movies as well as a folder of saved films, including one of him engaging in sexual intercourse with another 15-year-old girl he had met two years before. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Singapore is known for its tough approach to law and order 
 
 He later pleaded guilty to nine charges; they included three counts of having sex with a minor under sixteen and one for showing an obscene film to a six-year-old girl, which he did while out on bail. 
 
 He was given a total of four years in prison. 
 
 Outrage in Singapore 
 
 Singapore's crime rate is among the lowest in the world, and its judicial system one of the toughest. Lengthy jail terms and canings are common. 
 
 So public anger erupted in the media and online, as Robinson was seen as having got off lightly. Some asked whether a foreigner had been allowed to escape a harsher punishment. 
 
 More than 27,000 people have signed a petition calling for a revision of the sentencing. 
 
 "This is totally absurd," said Singaporean Michael Liew Khong in a post comment on state broadcaster Channel NewsAsia's Facebook page. "A four year sentence for a paedophile? What kind of laws do we have here? It's never about the nationality but the seriousness of the crime." 
 
 Other Facebook users like Chiaming Cho agreed. "This isn't an issue about locals versus foreigners. This is about a tough enough sentence to deter would-be offenders for a crime that may have lasting effects of a lifetime." 
 
 Edwin Yeo highlighted the amount of videos featuring children found in Robinson's possession. "This is taken more seriously in other nations. Why isn't our justice system looking at that? Robinson will probably be out in two years for good behaviour. This is infuriating." 
 
 The lack of corporal punishment was also called into question by some netizens. 
 
 "I do not understand why there isn't any caning being meted out in the sentencing," said Mag Kan. "Caning has always been part of sexual assault sentencing. Why is he being exempted from that?" 
 
 In its statement on Wednesday, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) acknowledged public unhappiness but said the four-year sentence was "broadly in line with relevant sentencing precedents" and that by pleading guilty, the victims had been spared having to testify. 
 
 It stressed Robinson had been convicted of neither sexual assault nor statutory rape, as the girls were above the age of 14 and had consented. "Caning is not provided for any of the offences Robinson was charged with," it said. 
 
 The AGC said it did "not differentiate between Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans", but that it would be discussing with government "whether the relevant legislation should be reviewed to enhance sentencing for some of the offences".
– A mixed martial arts teacher originally from the US found out his fate in Singapore last week for having sex with two 15-year-old girls—and thousands are decrying the punishment as not being nearly as punitive as it should be, the BBC reports. Nearly 29,000 people have signed on online petition calling for a harsher sentence for 39-year-old Joshua Robinson, who received a four-year prison sentence following the 2015 bust. The Straits Times says he pleaded guilty to charges of having sex with minors, as well as to showing an obscene film to a 6-year-old. Robinson's original arrest was for having sex with one of the girls, whom he met via a dating app, but when cops raided his apartment, they also found thousands of XXX-rated films, including one that showed him having sex with the second teen, whom he'd met a couple of years earlier. Sarah Woon, who started the petition and says she knows the family of the 6-year-old, says she finds it "absolutely intolerable" that Robinson only got four years, sans caning (which the BBC notes is a typical Singaporean punishment). The South China Morning Post reports the legal age of consent in the country is 16, and that the maximum sentence for consensual sexual intercourse with minors 14 and older is a fine and/or 10 years in prison. Prosecutors say they won't appeal the sentence because Robinson wasn't charged with rape or sexual assault, and because they said the girls had consented to the sex acts, but the country's home affairs minister said Wednesday that officials will be reviewing cases like Robinson's to determine if they should be "dealt with more severely through higher penalties." (Meanwhile, two guys who spray-painted a Singapore train got a caning sentence.)