SINGAPORE: A Singapore doctor has given his testimony in the trial of men accused of gang raping and murdering an Indian woman on a bus last year. He testified via videolink in the trial of five men accused of her murder, a defence lawyer said. The 23-year-old student who was raped and attacked with an iron bar in December died of massive internal injuries after the Indian government airlifted her to a top Singapore hospital in a last-ditch bid to save her life. “The doctor who conducted the post-mortem on the woman at the Singapore hospital has deposed before the trial court judge,” lawyer V.K. Anand said, without commenting further. Despite huge public interest in the case, the judge has barred reporting of the proceedings of the trial. Five men are charged with the viscous rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi on a bus in December. For on activist, rape is commonplace in India, but was most surprising in this specific case was that nobody intervened to stop the violence against the woman. “I get up everyday and when I read the newspaper there are so many crimes against women I almost cry. I didn't even notice it before this happened, but now it is shocking and we need to change," she told Bikyanews.com. And now is the time to do so. “We have talked for the past month, we have gone to the streets to protest and demanded change, but the government and police can only do so much. This problem facing women is a cultural one and something that we as Indians must come to terms with and understand if we are to change our country." In the December 16 incident, passengers and the driver of a bus are alleged to have attacked the woman and her male companion, robbed them and dumped them by the side of the road. The badly injured woman was flown to Singapore for treatment after the attack. She died about two weeks later while undergoing treatment. Her male companion survived. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty. For women in India, it is another test of the country's ability to support and give some justice to them in the country. Many women in Delhi Bikyanews.com spoke with say they are hopeful that this case will spur the change needed to begin to rethink and reexamine how women are treated, but they admit their is a long way to go before women can walk the streets of India in peace and without fear. BN
