It was reported that a drunken man who was arrested for causing a ruckus at a party also verbally abused a police officer "with vulgarities and religiously charged insults" (Drunken man at birthday bash gets jail for rash act; Jan 26).

Many people may be unaware that using abusive and insulting language on a public servant carrying out his duty constitutes a criminal offence.

As a semi-retired education officer, I also note with much concern the frequent use of offensive four-letter words among the young in their daily - and even friendly - conversations with others.

On television and in movies, popular novels and especially on social media, the use of such words is often considered hip, and even artistic and impactful, to the extent that many young people now use them unconsciously.

Therein lies the problem: When such offensive words become part of their normal vocabulary in everyday life, there will be no restraint on their use when these young people get agitated, provoked or drunk.

A former colleague once said that it would be a losing battle on my part to try to penalise and curb the use of profanities in school.

He even considered this an "industrial language" that many local students - both boys and girls - now use in their conversations.

Sadly, some people may pay the price for the uncontrolled use of such language in a fit of anger in unexpected situations.

I urge all educational institutions and civil organisations here to strongly discourage the use of such offensive language.

A civilised and humane society must be characterised by a respectful use of language, among other things.

Perhaps the Speak Good English Movement or the Kindness Movement could also look into this particular area of language use.

Koh Seng Lin