Misplaced Compassion

The Bhutanese took an Editorial decision to publish the picture of the murder accused in the heinous Pamtsho case and this has generated some debate.

There are two main arguments against publishing the image in the debate. The first is ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ and secondly the ‘emotional harm or pain’ caused to the murder accused Tshering’s family.

This paper decided to publish the picture for firstly specific reasons relevant to the current case, secondly for reasons related to other potential cases and thirdly based on the strength of the evidence.

While the police did a thorough investigation in the Pamtsho case there were still some specific unanswered questions on why the victim talked to him, asked him for taxi loan money and trusted him enough to walk with him only to get murdered.

It was also not clear why Tshering targeted Sumitra and if there was more to the case or more eyewitnesses.

The biggest question in the case was on if this crime was a pre-mediated murder case which is a killing done with prior planning and carries 15 years to life or a voluntary manslaughter case where a killing happened on the spot in a fit of passion or rage and carries 9 to under 15 years.

An official source earlier told this paper that since rape had not happened and one stranger killed another in a moment of passion and anger, there was a good chance of this becoming a voluntary manslaughter case, simply on technical legal grounds.

As a newspaper that does investigative journalism we were determined to go even beyond the police investigation, and find out if there was a link between the accused and the victim and if the murder was pre-meditated and not a crime of passion or anger on the spot.

After exhausting all sources, including family members, the paper decided to publish the picture with the hope that those with more information would come forward.

This is exactly what happened as the victim’s sister saw the picture of Tshering with short hair for the first time on our Facebook page and recognized it as Sumitra’s friend’s uncle. Even the police missed this as this information was hidden from the police.

This new information also exposed that Tshering did not meet her accidentally as a stranger while going home but he knew it was Sumitra and as shown in the CCTV footage evidence followed her in a pre-meditated manner and then later used the familiarity to lure her and then attempt to rape her.

Not succeeding in the rape, he killed her to conceal his identity as she would have easily exposed him.

The new finding by this paper, derived only by publishing the photo, shows that this is not a voluntary manslaughter case anymore, but there are now strong grounds to go for a murder charge as everything was pre-meditated.

The second reason for the paper to publish his picture was to encourage other possible victims in other cases to come forward. He could have been a serial offender.

Moreover, given that he is a suspect in the Paro and Dangrina cases of 2019 his picture could also bring forth any eyewitnesses in those unsolved cases, in case anyone saw him with the young victims before their deaths.

The third reason to publish is based on the strength of the police evidence which is his blood found on Sumitra, her blood found on him confirmed by DNA tests, his own confession, re-enactment at the crime site by him, and the CCTV footage.

Even then, nowhere has the paper said that he has been convicted by the court. The paper, so far, has only presented the findings and facts of the case and the court will take the final call.

The Pamtsho murder case shook the nation to its core and it raised several questions on women safety and why such a violent crime was committed.

The paper as per its duty and in the public interest did detailed investigative stories presenting both the police findings and also its own findings.

Rather than just condemning Tshering, the paper also delved into his past going into his childhood trauma and tried to understand what led up to the terrible moment. The paper was accused by some of being too sympathetic to him and others said that his story did not deserve to be told.

We did it so that our deep dive could throw more light on the case and help authorities to better understand such people and possibly come up with remedial measures or policies.

The publication of the picture was a deliberate continuation of that balanced journalistic work which has now derived actual results, as highlighted above.

His Majesty in the 114th National Day Address in 2021 pointed to ‘Misplaced Compassion,’ within a small knit and compassionate society due to which ‘we hesitate from giving our honest views or taking bold actions, which might risk offending or displeasing others,’ and as a result the strength of our national character has weakened.

The reaction to the publication of the picture by some only proves His Majesty’s words to be even more relevant today.

While baying for the blood and head of the murder accused is wrong, the other extreme of hiding his identity due to misplaced compassion is also wrong, especially when so much is at stake, including the very facts of the case.

The police and the press is duty bound to bring out the facts of the case in their own ways, OAG will decide the charges and the judiciary will adjudicate and give the final judgment based on the evidences.

Be it in rape or murder cases it is also grossly unethical to give equivalence to the perpetrator and the victim by focusing overwhelmingly on the privacy and dignity of the perpetrator or what those around him or her will feel.

By that logic then every rapist and murderer with any friend or family should be released given the pain caused to their family.

It is important to remember that any pain caused to the family of a criminal is entirely due to the actions of a criminal and not due to the police and media doing their jobs and most certainly it is not the victim’s fault.

The argument that publishing images or identity of criminals does not deter crime is not true as there are several cases where more victims have come forward, crucial evidence has turned up and it has even helped in arresting them if they are on the run.

The fear of not only undergoing a legal process and being convicted, but also being publicly exposed will act as a double disincentive.

This paper rarely publishes the pictures of criminals and only does it in very heinous cases after conviction or a rare case like this that demands it so that more information can come forward.

The debate for publishing mug shots or not is more relevant in the west where the police there publishes mugshots for even arrests in minor crimes like traffic violations, minor assault cases, public disorder etc., which is then published by the media there. The offenders in the west are usually young and it can affect their futures for minor offences and so some papers have started to decide not to publish their pictures in recent times.

In the west, the other problem is race politics as some feel mugshots give the impression that black people are more prone to crime and so some papers self-censor to prevent racial stereotypes.

Both of the above are not a problem in Bhutan as firstly images of offenders in minor cases are not published and secondly race is not an issue in mug shots in Bhutan.

In Bhutan, the opposite is true as the traditional trend in the media driven by misplaced compassion has been to accord equal privacy and protection to both a victim and offender even in heinous convicted cases, which is wrong and puts both on the same level at the cost of the victim.

The conservative stand taken by a few members of the Bhutanese media sets a dangerous precedent.

By this logic the media should cease all investigative and critical reporting until the Supreme Court rules on their stories.

The golden rule is that your stories and images should stand the test of facts and if need be litigation and if not so then one should be held accountable.

“It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”
Noël Coward