Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Singapore activist picks jail over fine for criticising courts

-

A Singaporean activist said Tuesday he had begun serving a one-week jail term after refusing to pay a fine for questioning the independence of the city-state's judiciary in a Facebook post.

Jolovan Wham was sentenced last year to a fine of Sg$5,000 (US$3,500) following a conviction for contempt of court -- but he did not pay, meaning he must serve the short prison sentence instead.

While wealthy and modern in many ways, rights groups say the city-state uses unnecessarily harsh laws to curb dissent, and have held up Wham's sentence as evidence of this.

He had alleged in his post that Singapore's judiciary lacked integrity and independence in cases involving the government or politicians.

Wham, who is also an advocate for migrant workers' rights, appealed his conviction but it was dismissed by Singapore's highest court.

In a Twitter post Tuesday morning, Wham said he was surrendering himself to the police to start serving his sentence after a send-off from supporters.

"I'm doing this in lieu of a 5k fine because I do not recognise the legitimacy of the (judgement) and the law, both of which are unjust," he said.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Wham "did nothing wrong and Singapore is blatantly violating his human rights by imprisoning him.

"Every time Singapore imprisons a critic... the country's modern image gets another black mark."

Passing sentence last year, a judge said that Wham "did not show any remorse" even after conviction.

It was Wham's latest run-in with the authorities. He had previously been fined Sg$3,200 for organising an illegal public discussion that featured prominent Hong Kong democracy campaigner Joshua Wong speaking via Skype.

His cases are among several that have alarmed rights groups, including that of a Singapore website editor charged with defamation and a lawsuit brought by the premier against a blogger.

A Singaporean activist said Tuesday he had begun serving a one-week jail term after refusing to pay a fine for questioning the independence of the city-state’s judiciary in a Facebook post.

Jolovan Wham was sentenced last year to a fine of Sg$5,000 (US$3,500) following a conviction for contempt of court — but he did not pay, meaning he must serve the short prison sentence instead.

While wealthy and modern in many ways, rights groups say the city-state uses unnecessarily harsh laws to curb dissent, and have held up Wham’s sentence as evidence of this.

He had alleged in his post that Singapore’s judiciary lacked integrity and independence in cases involving the government or politicians.

Wham, who is also an advocate for migrant workers’ rights, appealed his conviction but it was dismissed by Singapore’s highest court.

In a Twitter post Tuesday morning, Wham said he was surrendering himself to the police to start serving his sentence after a send-off from supporters.

“I’m doing this in lieu of a 5k fine because I do not recognise the legitimacy of the (judgement) and the law, both of which are unjust,” he said.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Wham “did nothing wrong and Singapore is blatantly violating his human rights by imprisoning him.

“Every time Singapore imprisons a critic… the country’s modern image gets another black mark.”

Passing sentence last year, a judge said that Wham “did not show any remorse” even after conviction.

It was Wham’s latest run-in with the authorities. He had previously been fined Sg$3,200 for organising an illegal public discussion that featured prominent Hong Kong democracy campaigner Joshua Wong speaking via Skype.

His cases are among several that have alarmed rights groups, including that of a Singapore website editor charged with defamation and a lawsuit brought by the premier against a blogger.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.