http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/0...uths-for-posting-racist-comments-on-facebook/
Written by Our Correspondent
Stung by fast rising public fury over the apparent double standards in its handling of the Rony Tan fiasco and the arrest of the three Singapore polytechnic students under the Sedition Act for posting racist comments on Facebook earlier, the PAP has capitulated to public pressure and let the them off the hook.
In a brief statement, the Singapore police said that the unnamed teen who started the racist group has been placed on the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports’ (MCYS) Guidance Programme.
He will undergo a ‘voluntary six-month programme that focuses on counselling and rehabilitation with the active involvement of parents. If the juvenile completes the Guidance Programme successfully, he will not be charged by the Police but issued with a caution instead.
The two youths who acted as administrators for the group, 17-year-old Sam Soo Siu Weng and 18-year-old Goh Jun Yi, have also been let off with a caution which begs the question whether they posted any racist comments or not or were implicated because they were administrators of the Facebook.
The unusually prompt response from the police seemed to contradict earlier statements made by Commander of Bedok Police Division and Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Teo Chun Ching:
“Police take a very stern view of acts that could threaten the social harmony in Singapore. The Internet may be a convenient medium to express one’s views but members of the public should bear in mind that they are no less accountable for their actions online.”
[Source: Straits Times, 4 February 2010]
The police had earlier said it would be investigating the matter before submitting the case to the Attorney-General Chambers for further deliberation. It took them only less than three weeks to “resolve” it which is quite unlike their typical “efficiency”.
If the police felt the threat posed by the three youths is so serious to warrant an arrest in the first place, why are they now closing the case so soon? Does that mean that the initial arrests were not necessary at all?
Pastor Rony Tan was hauled up by the ISD for questioning on Monday over the disparaging remarks he made about Buddhism and Taoism during a church session.
Though police reports were lodged against him, the Singapore police did not bother to take any action against him which they are empowered to do so under the Sedition Act.
Many Singaporeans are outraged that being a religious leader in a position of authority, Rony Tan was let off only with a warning while the three teenagers were arrested for a similar offence.
The differential treatments dished out to both parties appear to suggest that there is double standards in the application of the law.
Under “normal” circumstances, the three youths would probably be charged for Sedition.
In 2005, two young Singaporeans were jailed for posting inflammatory remarks about Malay Muslims on their blogs.
Benjamin Koh, 28, was given two concurrent one-month jail terms while Nicholas Lim, 25, was jailed for one day and fined S$5000 (US$2960) after they pleaded guilty to making strong anti-Muslim remarks.
“The doing of an act which has a seditious tendency to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between races or classes of the population in Singapore is serious,” judge Richard Magnus said in handing down his ruling on the two.
[Source: AFP, 26 October 2005]
Under the Sedition Act, anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes of the Singapore population shall be liable, on conviction for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
The recent uncharacteristic U-turns, flip-flops and PR blunders made by the PAP revealed an insecure party under siege which is fast losing the confidence, support and patience of the people.
The “release” of the three youths is nothing more than a political move to appease angry Singaporeans and doesn’t change the fact that Pastor Rony Tan was spared the punishment he deserved under the law because:
“A well-established Christian leader being charged under the Sedition Act would send shockwaves through the Christian community and put the community under siege.”
[Source: Straits Times, 12 February 2010]
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