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The Internet Government The Courts Your Rights Online News

Singapore Blogger Spared Jail 239

Posted by CowboyNeal from the shooting-off-one's-mouth dept.
afaik_ianal writes "A Singaporean blogger, who pled guilty to sedition charges last month for posting anti-Muslim remarks in his blog, has avoided a custodial sentence, and has been placed on 2 years probation instead. According to the article, the 17 year old student is the third person to be convicted under Singapore's sedition laws in October. Singapore, which is unconcerned by wide criticism of its record of press freedom, appears to have been stepping up efforts against bloggers in recent months."
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Singapore Blogger Spared Jail More

Singapore Blogger Spared Jail

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  • At least... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by leviramsey ( 248057 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:38PM (#14119249) Journal

    ...Singapore treats bloggers like they do "Real Journalists".

    *sigh*

    • As if the story has anything to do with blogging. Ignorant piece of shit. Parent is such a closed minded asshole, I really welcome debate on why I think this:

      Why does this event have anything to do with A)blogging B)Journalism

      and what does blogging have to do with journalism? I use a red pen at work to make notes? Maybe if I call that redlogging I shoudl ask for my own fucking laws and bitch and moan about stuff.

      I do invite the parent to explain himself further and question why the fuck modders think that a

  • How does police know about the Internet? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:39PM (#14119256)
    So who first told the police about the existence of the Internet, and why?

  • Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Oh the Slashdotters will just love the restricted press and restricted freedom angle of this but, a little education may help you understand that this is not all bad. In Singapore, it is not just bad to slam Islam, it is illegal to speak ill or provacatively of any religion. So it is illegal for Christians to flame Muslims and it is illegal for Muslims to flame Christian or Jews. The law requires that everyone "just get along" or STFU! This twat posted flames and the law nabbed him.

    Call it oppression if you

    • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:49PM (#14119296)
      So it is illegal for Christians to flame Muslims and it is illegal for Muslims to flame Christian or Jews.

      The problem is that one group of religious nutjobs takes flaming the others quite literally.

      Also, I don't see why any of them should be spared criticism. I'm an atheist, and I'm always on the receiving end of some well-meaning advices to get me into religion, but for some reason we religion-less folks aren't allowed to criticize those who believe in fairy tales that involve some god or another...

      • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:4, Insightful)

        by mordors9 ( 665662 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @03:02PM (#14119873)
        Why do I get the feeling this is one of the countries that the United Nations will put in charge if ICANN is taken over by the UN.
      • I'll be praying for you... (it is a joke...please take as intended.)

    • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:5, Interesting)

      by radicalskeptic ( 644346 ) <x@gCOFFEEmail.com minus caffeine> on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:56PM (#14119326)
      I am actually considering moving to Singapore, and read about this while I was researching what it is like. Singapore actually is kind of to me, an interesting experiment in censorship. On the one hand, as a liberty-loving American, I'm wary of a place where speaking your mind can get you thrown in jail. On the other hand, singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, is one of the cleanest countries in the world, has a very uncorrupt government, and somehow manages to keep a lot of different ethnicities (Chinese, Malay, Indian, many more) together mostly peacefully--in the most densely populated country on the planet, no less. This makes me wonder how much of it is due to the strict laws regarding racism, censorship, and morality (a lot of movies are censored or banned, pornography and oral sex is illegal, etc).

      Basically, I see the censorship/nanny state-sim, and I see the apparent economic and social success of the country, and I have to wonder how much they are related. And I wonder if I would give up some of my rights to live in a country that seems to be doing just fine without them.
      • has a very uncorrupt government....

        Members of the government not being collared for corruption could well be because they're good at hiding it. Also, in a country where you can cane, imprison or kill people for offences that would warrant a fine elsewhere you may find the press and media are too deeply involved with or too downright scared of whoever's doing the fiddling.

        • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:4, Informative)

          by Tiro ( 19535 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @07:20PM (#14120901) Journal
          The truth is that while there is not bribery or the kind of corruption you would find in a place like Sierra Leone or Russia, but there is a lot of corruption that keeps the elite 1% in control.

          If someone speaks out against the government and runs for parliament, the party that has run the place for the last 50 years sues for slander/libel and takes everything he owns. The person is also banned for running for office for a few years. Opposing the ruling party is like a peasant challenging a king, even if you are rich.

          The judges are not exactly bribed, but they know how they are "expected" to rule in these cases, and the ruling party is all-powerful.

      • I'd like to see some actual numbers on their crime rate as I would be fucking astounded that a place where almost everything _IS_ illegal could actually have less crimes committed per year.

        Are you fucking kidding me? These guys are jerks, and you'll realize this when you're sitting in a Thai jail for calling your local politician a fucking moron and religious zealot.

        But if you're a sheep that can accept having your entire life dictated to you by a bunch of over-compensating (The angriest are always the smal
      • >> [Singapore] has a very uncorrupt government

        When there's strict censorship, how do you know? I bet if there was more censorship in the US, 99.9% of folks would think that GWB is a genius and all the rest of the world is ruled by evil tyrants with their WMD targeted squarely at Washington, DC. That, and no one would even know of evolution.

        Why, I don't even have to say "if". Just remember the "commie" hysteria back in the day. You could ruin your career (and life) just by saying you're a communist. Or
      • ...has a very uncorrupt government...

        They also like to hang you if you happen to like getting high.

        Whilst bankrolling Burmese opium lords.

        (Please check the facts before modding me down. Thanks.)

        • Check this [smh.com.au] out:

          "Tough on drugs, soft on drug lords

          [...] A leading opposition figure cites "the Singapore Government Investment Corporation's 1990s investment in the Myanmar Fund, controlled by Lo Hsing Han, one of Burma's most notorious drug lords, through his Asia World Company. Lo's son, Stephen Law, is married to a Singaporean and lives in Singapore."

      • "Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty nor security." - Benjamin Franklin

      • Uncorrupt country? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by jotaeleemeese ( 303437 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @03:33PM (#14120003) Homepage Journal
        I want those rose tainted glasses matey, I would live in a less anguished world.

        If you were a politician in opossition you would be living in hell.

        If during a political campaign you claim a politician in power is not doing his job properly and why you could do it better, the politician in question will sue you for libel, take you to court, and Singapore is still waiting for the first goverment official that loses one of these cases.

        Once you lose the case (beacuse lose you will) the punishment is draconian and basically you are ordered to pay outlandish damages to make sure your larn your lesson. Several prominent Singaporean opposition figures have been bankrupted this way.

        Singapore executes people with the happy detachement only to be found in China (google around, you can always find one or two recent cases that leave you cringing with disgust for their "judicial system").

        Singapore was also the first country in the world to introduce nationwide filtering of the Internet (but all is of course in the benefit of the citizens of the happy city-state, what do they want foreigners spreading lies about this forward looking country!).

        No, I am not Singaporean, neither have Singaporean friends, but I lived and visited there, it reminded me of "Brave New World" a bit.

      • On the one hand, as a liberty-loving American, I'm wary of a place where speaking your mind can get you thrown in jail. On the other hand, singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world,

        What was that old chesnut again, you know, the one about "those who are willing to give a little liberty for security deserve neither"???

        and somehow manages to keep a lot of different ethnicities (Chinese, Malay, Indian, many more) together mostly peacefully--in the most densely populated country on the planet

      • Singapore seems closest in spirit to a "benevolent monarchy" -- if you go along with the ruling family (in every way), things will be peachy, but if you don't ... well... your indictment will probably be quite legal.

        [FWIW, my friend's sister-in-law married a Singaporean, and was initially entranced by the country (especially the "everybody's happy!" atmosphere), but ended up loathing it (perhaps for the same reason).]
      • The way I see it, it's less of a censorship thing out here, and more of legalising good taste.

        For instance, while there's exactly one local, highly censored, government-oriented, 'mainstream' newspaper published here, you can, as a matter of fact, get most international newspapers if you search hard enough. One rather unfortunate irony being that all local magazines are of the fluffy kind (Maxim Singapore, FHM Singapore etc); you'd actually have to buy international news-magazines for current news and analy

    • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by rubycodez ( 864176 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:57PM (#14119327)
      Large organized religions, especially Islam and Christianity, have been a curse to mankind, the cause of hundreds of millions of deaths and the worst cruelties, and continued poverty and ignorance. As an example of how brainwashed we are on the subject, point out how evil the nazis were and normal people agree; point out the Roman Catholic Church has murdered and persecuted more Jews than Hitler, and all of a sudden you get labelled as "intolerant". uh-huh....
      • Large organized religions, especially Islam and Christianity, have been a curse to mankind, the cause of hundreds of millions of deaths and the worst cruelties, and continued poverty and ignorance.

        I always hear this same response trotted out in every thread on religion. "Religion has caused the deaths of millions of people", "Religion has caused more wars than anything else", etc. And it always annoy me. Religion doesn't cause war any more than politics or economics causes war.

        All wars are caused by one
    • Call it oppression if you like but, you must acknowledge the fact that it makes for a more peaceful society.

      Oh yeah, like that's gonna work. What happens when you suppress freedom of speech regarding religion, racism, nazism or whatever, is that racists and nazis and religious nuts all get to brew their little hatreds quietly to avoid the law, and one day it explodes without anybody seeing it coming.

      Just look at France: a big majority of the (white) population is racist, as demonstrated by the last presiden
      • Flamebait? Saying that government oppression breads resentment and and polarized nation while open discussion allows people to choose for themselves is flamebait? Mentioing that that very oppression in France lead to an entire population of immigrants to France that have no interest in "being french" which leads to their alienation and very recently a multiple day long riot between the french and their minority population is flamebait? Free speach = good, oppression = bad.
    • I know that I wasted my mod points by posting, but "bad to slam islam", that's gotta be a great title for a song....
    • Yes, totalitarian governments are better than governments based on freedom.

      Absulutely,

      yup

      • Re:Educate Yourself Before Commenting (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Skye16 ( 685048 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @02:08PM (#14119644)
        Where does one of these governments based on "freedom" exist?

        The word Freedom implies total freedom. 100%. That's anarchy. A "government based on freedom" is a blatant contradiction in terms.

        Governments can exist to promote some degree of some freedoms(s), and I assume that is what you meant. But stop with the trite soundbites of glorification, okay? The world is not black and white, and neither are governments. They're all just differing shades of grey.
    • Airstrip One was pretty peaceful as well.
    • Sorry, but I can't see a society that has laws making it a crime to express your opinion to be good in any way, shape, or form. Order at the expense of Liberty is Oppression.

    • Oh the Slashdotters will just love the restricted press and restricted freedom angle of this but, a little education may help you understand that this is not all bad.

      Orientals pretty much to be a bunch of terminal fuckheads when it comes to human rights.

      The history of Asia is nothing but a bunch of tycoons taking over and running the majority of the people into slavery, all the while bickering amongst themselves. Without the Englightenment that touched Europe in the 18th century, there is absolutely no

    • Educate [gutenberg.org] yourself before commenting. Prior constraint is wrong even when one is trying to restrain hate speech, so long as no one is making threats or inciting violence.

  • Caning! (Score:3, Funny)

    by mister_llah ( 891540 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:52PM (#14119305) Homepage Journal
    Hey, come on, that American guy who messed with those cars or whatever got CANED...

    At least CANE the guy and release the video on the web...

    [preferably cane him to death and release the video as a warning to others, but whatever....]
    • You have a law against yelling "fire" in theater (and do not get me started on libel law either), we have a law against yelling "kill'em all they are black/jew/yellow/whatever". Your FCC I think even censor swearing on the wave. The thing is, nowhere in the world there is true free speech. Everywhere you have a more or less limited speech. US is for example one of the country with "seemingly" the less limited speech. Here in some country of the EU, we decided that incitation to hatred , and revisionism (de
      • How can you call something a truth if one is not allowed to debate it?

        It is amazing how people who are normally logical and sensible, beceome emotional when it comes to sensitive social issues.

        I'm not gonna side with the revisionists but if someone believes otherwise, thats his business. As an objective thinker, I will take the side that seems the most rational based on the facts.
        • I'm not gonna side with the revisionists but if someone believes otherwise, thats his business.

          In a free-speech society, although it's no one's place to stamp out absurd revisionism or half-baked positions, I'd say it's your place-- duty, even-- to call them out on being absurd and half-baked. A free-speech society where all positions are accepted and tolerated without opposition (because, after all, "It's a free country!") totally counters the goal of free speech. In an arena of open debate, incorrect spee
    • Just wanted to add that the convicted nazi and self-claimed "historian" is the former director of the IHR (source for the parents link).
      And "entrapment"? Give me a break:
      Why does someone go to "discuss" his hate speech with a public prosecutor?
      You know, someone who doesn't make the laws but might be required to enforce their violations if you cite your bullshit at your "discussion" with him?
      Sounds more like attention whoring with intended public political martyrdom to me.

      BTW. The verdict (still) isn't
    • Great source you've got there, nazi scum.

      (They're holocaust denyers [ihr.org]. See also their wikipedia entry [wikipedia.org])
  • Why don't these fundamentalists leave the justice for blasphemers to god, instead of playing god themselves?

  • Singapore - not really free... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26, 2005 @12:58PM (#14119333)
    Being from Singapore myself I can say that Singapore never has been free - it makes a superficial attempt at looking like a democracy, but thats just to appease outsiders. Things like other political parties aren't legal... and people have been known to disappear if they hold the wrong views...
    • "Being from Singapore myself I can say that Singapore never has been free - it makes a superficial attempt at looking like a democracy, but thats just to appease outsiders. Things like other political parties aren't legal... and people have been known to disappear if they hold the wrong views..."

      Oh -- I guess I can't really call you an anonymous "COWARD" then, can I.

      The unclear limits in Singapore would lead a lot of people to kepe their mouth shut and head down, and just hope for the best -- because you ne

  • Not news! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by linumax ( 910946 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @01:02PM (#14119357)
    In Iran (where I live) this is no news, it just happens everyday! the only difference is that jail is the simplest thing that could happen to a blogger!
  • I believe in free speech yet I do wonder what the guy actually said about Islam.

    For my own 2 cents, I say defund radical Islam by seizing the oil fields. Stop paying for oil!

    • Radical Islam doesn't have the oil that's sponsoring terrorism. It's America's partners - the friendly (albeit civil rights hostile) Saudi Kingdom, that was the source of the hijackers who blew up the WTC, and members of Bush family friends (trained by the CIA) who planned the attacks.

      Also, Iraq was never radical islam - at best, a corrupt dictatorship that was nominally islamic.

      It's like a rich family got mugged by the son of their rich neighbor, so they blame the poor kids from the bad side of town.

      In Ira

  • Huh? (Score:3)

    by Aqws ( 932918 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @01:58PM (#14119600) Journal
    What did he actually say? I can't find information anywere. If it's something that I don't want hear, then I guess that's ok.

  • More about the blogger (Score:5, Informative)

    by tcak ( 513301 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @02:03PM (#14119622) Homepage Journal

    The Sydney Morning Herald is a little light on details. Gan Huai Shi's community service will be performed among the Malay-Muslims, the community he once expressed his racist sentiments. The Straits Times wrote [asiaone.com]: "His 180 hours of community work should also take place at Malay welfare organisations such as the Jamiyah Home for the Aged, Pertapis Children's Home and Muhammadiyah Health and Day Care Centre for the Aged."

    There is also a story [asiaone.com] behind his anti-Malay/Muslim remarks.

    "Mr Pereira told the court the youth's animosity towards Malays stemmed from the traumatic death of his baby brother 10 years ago.

    Gan, then seven, was with his mother trying to get a cab to rush his one-month-old brother to hospital. They failed to persuade a Malay couple to give up a taxi which had stopped for them. It took another 20 minutes before they flagged down another taxi. The baby was pronounced dead on arrival."

  • News for Nerds? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by cowboy76Spain ( 815442 )
    Excuse, but how come this new makes it to slashdot? Granted, the comments were made in a blog, but the issue is not with the blog itself but with the comments. Had he/she made the comments in a graffiti, or shouted them in a crowded place, it would be the same in regard to the law. Of course there is the issue if we like Singapur's laws, but then ours is just our opinion and who should decide on the law should be the Singapur citizens. And for do that properly, the article or any source should tell which wh
  • I for one am tired of seeing every forum, newsgroup, and irc channel I visit being flooded by these morons.

    malay2u has joined #channel
      haiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
      who is r uuuu???? hellllllllloooooooooooooooooo?
      can u hlp meeeee plsssssssssss
      yy not?
      u all ar fagot
    malay2u has left #channel
  • They will hang political opposition leaders for possessing drugs...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/44 68644.stm [bbc.co.uk].
  • You sent millions of unwanted emails, clogging my inbox with offers to make my penis hard like concrete, but chew gum while walking down the sidewalk, and it's a public ass-whipping with a cane ? Nice.
  • Can someone explain why 'blogging' has ANYTHING to do with this damn story? You short-sighted fools.

    sedition charges last month for posting anti-Muslim remarks

    Does it matter WHERE he posted them? The fact that they were in a blog - DOES THIS MAKE THEM ANY FUCKING DIFFERENT. For fucks sake people, if you all make out that somehow, things written in blogs are somehow different to writing them in any other way? You totally miss the point of the story by focussing on some transient shitty 'technology / retracte

  • Singapore's new ad slogan (Score:3)

    by schnitzi ( 243781 ) on Saturday November 26, 2005 @09:00PM (#14121414) Homepage
    "Singapore: It's Not Just The Heat That's Oppressive."

  • For those of you who are wondering why our government considers such remarks as "sedition", no it's NOT because our government is controlled by religious zealots or anything.

    The reason is simple, racial riots broke out in Singapore in the 1960s. The government realized that being the muilti-racial country that we are, such conflicts between the communities cannot be allowed to happen again. We are a small country and if internal disputes between the races and religions breaks us up, there won't be anythin

  • You can't even pee in the elevators in Singapore. [worldwander.com]
  • Gan Huai Shi in Mandarin means 'does bad things.' (Of course, it could be a total coincidence, without the characters it's impossible to tell, but I'm not familiar with a last name Gan).

    Pretty funny that no one noticed this.

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