Last weekend, AWARE came to know about the 2018 incident, captured on recently released videos, in which Samuel Seow hit and berated employees at his office.

The content of the video is horrifying. There is absolutely no excuse for Seow’s behaviour, and we hope that he seeks the help that he needs. We also express our deepest sympathies to the women he subjected to his violence.

It is imperative that workplaces remain safe at all times for every single individual who enters them. Harassment of any nature—physical, verbal, sexual, etc.—is simply unacceptable at the workplace, as elsewhere. AWARE’s Women’s Helpline is open Monday to Friday for any women facing harassment who would like emotional support, legal guidance and practical advice.

We were further surprised at Seow’s actions because his company Beam Artistes was one of the organisers behind the exhibit #DontTellMeHowToDress, which ran at the NomadX space this past month. #DontTellMeHowToDress is an exhibit that displays the clothes (or replicas of the clothes) worn by sexual assault survivors at the time of their assault; the objective is to challenge the myth that any particular way of dressing can induce or excuse sexual violence. Its founder, Cindy Bishop, had launched successful iterations in other Southeast Asian countries before this year. When the exhibit travelled to Singapore, AWARE was contacted by the organisers, and some of our Aim For Zero campaign spokespersons contributed clothes to the exhibit.

We were all excited to be a part of Cindy’s vision. Therefore, it was disappointing to find out that the owner of a company that helped put together such a meaningful campaign did not himself uphold the values—such as respect—expounded by the work.