Opinions and perspectives on criminal and public nuisance cases are generally expressed by the layman in a raw manner (Shanmugam rebukes academic over remarks; April 28).

They carry the elements of mixed emotions and normally are unfiltered or uncensored.

But how society feels about the punishment meted out in criminal cases should not cause alarm to the Government, as the opinions expressed may lack strong substantiation or legal knowledge and expertise about the case.

A closer analysis is required to understand the logic or rationale for the public's reactions to a case.

For this, the Government could form a committee to study if there is a need to stiffen the punishment that had been meted out.

Most importantly, we must continually uphold, secure and maintain the exclusive independence of the judicial and administrative systems so as to ensure their utmost justice, transparency and fairness.

Teo Kueh Liang