IF YOU'VE been following the debate in our Forum pages about violent rape and torture scenes in MediaCorp drama serials - the latest missive from forum letter writer Miss Ng Yee Ting here - you'd be familiar with the complaints that have been lodged against drama scriptwriters: That they use these scenes gratuitously as a cheap way to boost viewership; appealing to people's closet fascination with rape and violent crimes.

MediaCorp's defence has been that sexual and violent crimes are topics that are reported frequently in the newspapers, and viewers should be discerning enough to detect the immorality of vicious crime.

Miss Ng's letter today, however, argued:

"Newspapers report sexual and violent crimes factually, and temper their description without visual and sound effects.

People, especially children, are more likely to be affected adversely by seemingly real crime happening in front of them than in a factual newspaper report.

Thus, MediaCorp is wrong to justify scenes of physical violence and rape because newspapers do so."

I agree with Miss Ng and I do believe that youngsters during their years of character development exposed to such images on free-to-air channels might develop various levels of acceptable social behaviour. (Remember, I myself was hit a couple of times during relationship squabbles in my younger days as I blogged about before.)

But whichever school of thinking one leans towards, I decided to do something about it for myself.

Having been a journalist for more than a decade - in print, on telly and now online - I've slowly been more accessible to the public and have attracted attention both positive and negative.

I remember a scary email a couple of years ago from a viewer suggesting I get familiar with taxi company call numbers as I finished my shift at midnight and it wasn't safe waiting for a taxi by the road. He continued to say that, to ensure my safety, he had followed my taxi home the previous night.

Naturally, I freaked out. My family freaked out. Everybody freaked out.

So, after a recent family gathering during which we were talking about violent crime, my cousin decided that I required self-defence lessons. He'd been studying various forms of martial arts over the years and showed up at my office building yesterday with wooden knives and sticks for an intense one-on-one session in the gym.

(Aside: Punching and slapping one's cousin, and having him punch and slap me, is a rather awkward experience.)

Focusing on defence moves, he gave me very common-sensical yet very easily forgettable tips:

(1) Be alert: This might sound so obvious that it borders on the ridiculous as advice. Not so. How many of us walk around with our iPod earphones embedded in our ears, depriving ourselves a key sensory faculty - hearing?

(2) Be prepared: Again, so obvious. All boy and girl scouts know this. But I was warned not to wait around in public places leaning against a wall or a railing as it would put me off centre and more susceptible to being tackled.

(3) Don't attack back: If someone approaches you front-on and engages in close combat, it's better to go with the flow and let the attacker throw himself or herself off balance. (This assumes that you're balanced yourself though.)

Alas, my adhering to point (2) and (3) is somewhat compromised by something that my male cousin didn't anticipate: Girls wear high-heels. Oops. When we were younger, He-Man (my cousin) hadn't had to protect Sheera (me) on account of my footwear.

Nevertheless, I'll be taking his no-iPod advice. That, at least, will not deprive me of my hearing faculty when it comes to being aware.

So what's the bottom line of this blog entry? Just that whether you agree or disagree that the proliferation of violence in drama serials correlates to the proliferation of violence in real life, it makes sense to be prepared for any circumstance.

Anyone else has tips to share here?