"Couple behind The Real Singapore website charged with sedition - AsiaOne Apr 14, 2015
SINGAPORE - The duo behind socio-political website The Real Singapore (TRS) have been charged with sedition Tuesday morning.
According to a statement from the Singapore Police Force, 26-year-old Singaporean, Yang Kai Heng, and 22-year-old Australian, Ai Takagi, will each face seven counts under the Sedition Act. The couple were arrested on Feb 4 after an article from a contributor was published on TRS, alleging that a Filipino family's complaint over noise from drummers led to a scuffle during the Thaipusam procession on Feb 3. The contributor clarified on another site that the allegations of a Filipino family involved in the incident were untrue, reported The Straits Times.
The couple also face one count under the Penal Code for allegedly failing to produce documents including revenue information on advertising on TRS on March 26.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for May 12.
Under the Sedition Act, anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes in Singapore shall be fined up to $5,000 or face imprisonment of up to three years, or both. In addition, anyone found guilty of omission to produce a document(s) or an electronic record(s) to a public servant under the Penal Code shall be punished with a jail term of one month, or a fine of up to $1,500, or both."
Hmm, the word 'sedition' is fairly popular lately in both sides of the Johore Straits!
Lessons for me are:
1. is it a business or is it a business? :-) TRS is a business first and foremost and the 'way' to more advertising revenue for TRS is to create sensational news pieces since PEOPLE are weird in that they SIMPLY, ok ok, SOME of them, LOVE the 'letting off of opinions without any evidence and using crude and demeaning languages on anything and anyone that they don't like or hate! This is, of course, the lowest form of journalism to attract eyeballs and hence advertising money!;
2. personally I support responsible free speech and respect the restriction on commenting on race, language and religion in a multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious society like ours. The simple reason is: such topics are emotionally charged. When emotion is aroused, rationality has NO CHANCE at all. And we NEED rationality to be able to solve problems and challenges successfully in most cases. The negative energy of emotional outburst and aggression once unleashed will spread unstoppably. That consequence can be catastrophe! Not something we want to 'try'!!;
3. will this 'sedition' thingy be overplayed by authorities to suppress the innocents, the opposition political parties and dissenting member of the public like in some other 'corrupt and incompetent governments' in Singapore? My guess is that it WILL NOT be abused thought the possibility is there. WHY? Because if it really took place in our Little Red Dot, it will be time to pack up and leave as it simply means that after 50 years of nation building, after achieving an economic miracle, after overcoming unimaginable odds to go from '3rd world to 1st world', we have FAILED!! That our citizens are UNABLE to discern between falsehood and truth! That they are UNABLE to vote wisely to maintain a government who is incorruptible! If so, then perhaps, we deserve what we get!! A quick drop from 1st world to the 3rd world!!
May 'sedition' be used for the benefits of the majority. Peace on earth!!
SINGAPORE - The duo behind socio-political website The Real Singapore (TRS) have been charged with sedition Tuesday morning.
According to a statement from the Singapore Police Force, 26-year-old Singaporean, Yang Kai Heng, and 22-year-old Australian, Ai Takagi, will each face seven counts under the Sedition Act. The couple were arrested on Feb 4 after an article from a contributor was published on TRS, alleging that a Filipino family's complaint over noise from drummers led to a scuffle during the Thaipusam procession on Feb 3. The contributor clarified on another site that the allegations of a Filipino family involved in the incident were untrue, reported The Straits Times.
The couple also face one count under the Penal Code for allegedly failing to produce documents including revenue information on advertising on TRS on March 26.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for May 12.
Under the Sedition Act, anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes in Singapore shall be fined up to $5,000 or face imprisonment of up to three years, or both. In addition, anyone found guilty of omission to produce a document(s) or an electronic record(s) to a public servant under the Penal Code shall be punished with a jail term of one month, or a fine of up to $1,500, or both."
Hmm, the word 'sedition' is fairly popular lately in both sides of the Johore Straits!
Lessons for me are:
1. is it a business or is it a business? :-) TRS is a business first and foremost and the 'way' to more advertising revenue for TRS is to create sensational news pieces since PEOPLE are weird in that they SIMPLY, ok ok, SOME of them, LOVE the 'letting off of opinions without any evidence and using crude and demeaning languages on anything and anyone that they don't like or hate! This is, of course, the lowest form of journalism to attract eyeballs and hence advertising money!;
2. personally I support responsible free speech and respect the restriction on commenting on race, language and religion in a multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious society like ours. The simple reason is: such topics are emotionally charged. When emotion is aroused, rationality has NO CHANCE at all. And we NEED rationality to be able to solve problems and challenges successfully in most cases. The negative energy of emotional outburst and aggression once unleashed will spread unstoppably. That consequence can be catastrophe! Not something we want to 'try'!!;
3. will this 'sedition' thingy be overplayed by authorities to suppress the innocents, the opposition political parties and dissenting member of the public like in some other 'corrupt and incompetent governments' in Singapore? My guess is that it WILL NOT be abused thought the possibility is there. WHY? Because if it really took place in our Little Red Dot, it will be time to pack up and leave as it simply means that after 50 years of nation building, after achieving an economic miracle, after overcoming unimaginable odds to go from '3rd world to 1st world', we have FAILED!! That our citizens are UNABLE to discern between falsehood and truth! That they are UNABLE to vote wisely to maintain a government who is incorruptible! If so, then perhaps, we deserve what we get!! A quick drop from 1st world to the 3rd world!!
May 'sedition' be used for the benefits of the majority. Peace on earth!!
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