A group of Singapore citizens went before a court of law in the city state today. Their crime? Well, that's not exactly clear. Blogger
Jacob reports:
When the hearing resumed at 3:30 pm, the court clerk spent the next 1 hour and 45 minutes reading out the charges to each of the defendants.
When it came to Mr Jufrie Mahmood, the officer asked him what language Mr Jufrie wanted the charge to be read in.
"English," the veteran oppositionist replied.
After the charges were read out, the clerk asked him: "Do you understand the charge?"
"I understand what was read out to me," Mr Jufrie replied, "what I don't understand is why are we being charged. You see groups of tourists and other people everyday in front of Parliament. Why are they all not charged?"
Singapore is the only advanced country in the world today in which ordinary citizens will actually get hauled before a judge for the crime of standing together in a group. Background and commentary
here.
A group of Singapore citizens went before a court of law in the city state today. Their crime? Well, that's not exactly clear. Blogger Jacob reports:
" UTOPIA LOST"
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when Singapore was considered like some sort of Asian UTOPIA,today that shiny image is getting tarnished. For no true democracy fears dissident ,for dissident is the life blood of a democratic system of government. with dissident you have oppressiv power exerted by a government no longer accountable to it's people.Curbing political dissident is nothing new.The Prohibition of assemblies and Processions has the same wording the British used in their law in Boston which led to the American Revolution. Here in Houston,Texas we have groups,some even every unpopulargroups demonstrate on the steps of our City Hall. No one puts them in jail for saying what they think. Tio Ricardo