Former Filipino nurse charged with sedition, giving false info to police
The man allegedly made anti-Singaporean comments on Facebook
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 12:40pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 12:40pm
Staff reporter
The man allegedly made anti-Singaporean comments on Facebook. Photo: AP
A Filipino nurse in Singapore was on Tuesday charged with sedition and lying to the police for allegedly making anti-Singaporean comments on Facebook, The Straits Times reported.
In his Facebook post in January, Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 28, allegedly prayed that “disators” [sic] to strike Singapore and “more Singaporeans will die”, and that he would celebrate.
He also described Singaporeans as “loosers” [sic] and pledged to “evict” them from their country and said “Pinoy better and stronger than Stinkaporeans” in the post.
Singapore’s Sedition Act stipulates that anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes of the population be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to three years.
When interrogated by Singapore police a day after he published the post, Ello allegedly claimed that his Facebook account had been hacked and that the comments were not posted by him.
But police have alleged that he lied to them after they conducted a digital forensic analysis of his computer devices and server logs, according to a spokesperson from the Attorney-General's Chambers.
Providing false information to a public servant in Singapore is punishable with a jail term of up to one year and a fine up to $5,000 per charge.
The Filipino nurse was dismissed from his job at the local Tan Tock Seng Hospital after the controversial Facebook post.
Authorities have confiscated Ello’s passport while he awaits a pre-trial hearing set for April 21.
