British author jailed for contempt by Singapore court

 

 

A court in Singapore today sentenced the British author Alan Shadrake to six weeks in prison after he was earlier found guilty of contempt over claims in his book about city-state's application of the death penalty.

 

• Shadrake, 76, was also fined US$15,400 over allegations he made in Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore's Justice in the Dock, which claimed that the state bowed to foreign influence and favoured the wealthy and well connected in deciding who should hang.
  The book features a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi prison, as well as interviews with human rights activists, former police officers and lawyers.
  Prosecutors representing the attorney general's office had demanded a three-month jail term, claiming that Shadrake's book had cast doubt on the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary.
  According to Amnesty International, Singapore, a country of nearly 5 million, has the highest per capita rate of executions in the world, having put more than 420 people to death since 1991.
  In a 2004 report, Amnesty said the death penalty was disproportionately used against migrant workers, drug addicts and poorer people.
  In finding Shadrake guilty of contempt of court earlier this month, Singapore's high court judge, Quentin Loh, said the book contained "half-truths and selective facts; sometimes outright falsehoods."
  Shadrake, who suffers from an irregular heartbeat and a serious colonic illness, offered a qualified apology last week, but stood by the claims made in his book. His lawyer, M. Ravi, said earlier this month that his client should have been censured rather than jailed.
  Loh dismissed Shadrake's last-minute apology as "nothing more than a tactical ploy to in court to obtain a reduced sentence" – the longest ever given for contempt of court in Singapore, according to reports.
  Loh said Shadrake would have to serve an additional two weeks in prison if he failed to pay the fine.
  Shadrake's trial has reignited debate over Singapore's alleged use of contempt laws to stifle dissent and punish journalists deemed to have insulted the authorities.
  It was not clear if Shadrake would appeal against his sentence. He also faces separate charges of criminal defamation, punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and a hefty fine.
  Shadrake was arrested on 18 July after attending an event to launch his book in Singapore. In a recent interview with the Guardian, he admitted one minor inaccuracy in his book, but insisted the rest was "devastatingly accurate".
  "They know the book is accurate, which is why they're going to all this trouble," he said.
  He added that he was undeterred by the prospect of going to prison: "This story is never going away. I'll keep it on the boil for as long as I live. They're going to regret they ever started this."
  

I wonder who is right. :surprised:

 

 

http://coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73482

 

Is there anything you can't get sentenced for in Singapore?

I knew this would freaking happen, why couldn't it be called 'Mark's News Thread'? When he gets settled in to writing news items again we'll have dozens of stupid topics about pictures of birds and how divorce rates are causing child murderers.

Is there anything you can't get sentenced for in Singapore?

 

Apparently not. :dozey:

I knew this would freaking happen, why couldn't it be called 'Mark's News Thread'? When he gets settled in to writing news items again we'll have dozens of stupid topics about pictures of birds and how divorce rates are causing child murderers.

 

didn't we have a thread for all his spam needs?

 

a mod should merge this

That's Mark's "Daily Mail" thread, so now he's posting news items that aren't from the Daily Mail.

 

Fair enough this isn't the worst topic, but it's only a matter of time before he gets settled in to posting 7 news items about Cheryl Cole everyday, just not from the Daily Mail. It is purely for attention, not to start discussion.

Change the name to Mark's news thread, then everybody wins

Anyone that suggests this isn't a legitimate news story needs their head examined.:dozey:

Is it in Singapore where they jail people for dropping litter ?:thinking:

Nobody said it wasn't, but your DM topic was created because for every 1 genuine news item you posted there would be 5 threads about pictures of butterflies or how Simon Cowell's going to be the next Prime Minister, so after an irritating amount of crappy articles you had your own thread made for you to put them all into one, whether they're legitimate news or not (Which is what you deserve for spamming with so many pointless topics).

 

So now, this, or any other news item you want to post, should be going into one topic, because it's only a matter of time before you start posting a bunch of nonsense threads again for attention, and a lot of them don't even get replies.

Is it in Singapore where they jail people for dropping litter ?:thinking:

 

Yes, and for chewing gum, if I remember correctly.;)

However, "freedom of speech" is a much more serious issue.

I Thought that was it

I Would hate to live there :\

Nobody said it wasn't, but your DM topic was created because for every 1 genuine news item you posted there would be 5 threads about pictures of butterflies or how Simon Cowell's going to be the next Prime Minister, so after an irritating amount of crappy articles you had your own thread made for you to put them all into one, whether they're legitimate news or not (Which is what you deserve for spamming with so many pointless topics).

 

So now, this, or any other news item you want to post, should be going into one topic, because it's only a matter of time before you start posting a bunch of nonsense threads again for attention, and a lot of them don't even get replies.

 

If you want to talk about genuine "nonsense" threads, you should try looking in The Lounge some time. It's full of them.:dozey:

I Thought that was it

I Would hate to live there :\

 

Ditto.:dozey:

If you want to talk about genuine "nonsense" threads, you should try looking in The Lounge some time. It's full of them.:dozey:

 

Well wow that had entirely nothing to do with what I was talking about, well done.

:escaping:

Well wow that had entirely nothing to do with what I was talking about, well done.

 

Your comments have nothing to do with the topic. Well done yourself.................... :rolleyes:

Is it in Singapore where they jail people for dropping litter ?:thinking:

 

Yes, and for chewing gum, if I remember correctly.;)

However, "freedom of speech" is a much more serious issue.

 

there's a slight misconception outside of Singapore about the chewing gum law. chewing gum (i.e. the bubble gum sweets kind) cannot be sold in Singapore by law. however, dental gum can be sold over the counter at pharmacies...but you will have to write down your name & i can't remember if it was phone number or Identity Card No. or both that i had to write down.

 

as low as the crime rate is in Singapore (i've seen a banner that read "low crime does not mean no crime"), the police can't really be arresting every person seen chewing gum...short of hauling every gum chewer into a lab just to test if it's dental gum or bubble gum.

 

& actually, you'd get fined for most things first. caning & jailing is for more serious crimes. like what is said in the media about the govt or the Lee family. which is taken VERY seriously. international media organisations have been taken to court over what they've published.

 

oh...& you need to have a permit to stage any form of peaceful protest or gathering of more than 4 persons & how they deal with any form of gathering that even hints of a protest. my favourite was when the police's Special Ops Command were deployed with no less than 4 riot buses for a gathering of 8 people who wanted to stage a protest by doing a photo shoot of their toys "protesting" back in 2007. :dozey:

 

Singapore police sends 4 riot buses to deal with Ultraman?

 

it was never reported in the local Singapore media, but blogs & Reuters spread the word...

oh...& you need to have a permit to stage any form of peaceful protest or gathering of more than 4 persons

 

when you say a gathering of more than 4 persons is that just for political things, or would you need a permit to hold a birthday party?

when you say a gathering of more than 4 persons is that just for political things, or would you need a permit to hold a birthday party?

 

nah, birthday parties are fine. tbh, it's a rather vague (imo) law that says "outings" are fine, but "gatherings" are illegal. & i think it's an old law left behind from the days when Malaysia & Singapore went through a period of racial riots & unrest shortly after gaining independence from British rule. only thing is the govts (Malaysia has a similar law too) never really did away with that law & these days it gets brought up mostly in relation to any political activity by the oppositions.

 

Singapore Makes Public Assemblies Illegal

there's a slight misconception outside of Singapore about the chewing gum law. chewing gum (i.e. the bubble gum sweets kind) cannot be sold in Singapore by law. however, dental gum can be sold over the counter at pharmacies...but you will have to write down your name & i can't remember if it was phone number or Identity Card No. or both that i had to write down.

 

as low as the crime rate is in Singapore (i've seen a banner that read "low crime does not mean no crime"), the police can't really be arresting every person seen chewing gum...short of hauling every gum chewer into a lab just to test if it's dental gum or bubble gum.

 

& actually, you'd get fined for most things first. caning & jailing is for more serious crimes. like what is said in the media about the govt or the Lee family. which is taken VERY seriously. international media organisations have been taken to court over what they've published.

 

oh...& you need to have a permit to stage any form of peaceful protest or gathering of more than 4 persons & how they deal with any form of gathering that even hints of a protest. my favourite was when the police's Special Ops Command were deployed with no less than 4 riot buses for a gathering of 8 people who wanted to stage a protest by doing a photo shoot of their toys "protesting" back in 2007. :dozey:

 

Singapore police sends 4 riot buses to deal with Ultraman?

 

it was never reported in the local Singapore media, but blogs & Reuters spread the word...

 

Anyway, it all sounds very oppressive and draconian indeed. :dozey: