Re: Dictator of S'pore, Lee Con You in hospital for severe pneumonia, dying soon. Yip
SINGAPORE: A male Singaporean student, below 16 years old, is assisting police in investigations into a fake Prime Minister's Office notice on Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
On Friday (Mar 20) the Singapore Police Force (SPF) issued a news release on Friday (Mar 20), saying that at about 10pm on Wednesday, police were alerted to multiple messages that were being circulated regarding a screenshot photograph of a statement purportedly from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) website. The PMO lodged a police report on Wednesday night.
Police established the identity of the suspect within 24 hours, SPF said. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was believed to have modified an earlier 2010 PMO media statement hosted on the PMO website and subsequently sent out a photo of the modified content.
"The suspect is a male Singaporean student, below 16 years of age, and is believed to have operated alone," SPF added.
The student is assisting the police with investigations for the offence of Access with Intent to Commit or Facilitate Commission of Offence under Section 4(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, Chapter 50A, which carries a punishment of a fine not exceeding S$50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.
The doctored image prompted broadcasters CNN and CCTV to post erroneous tweets and report inaccurately that Mr Lee had died.
Mr Lee, Singapore's first Prime Minister, is currently critically ill in the Intensive Care Unit at the Singapore General Hospital. He has been in hospital for more than a month, after being admitted for severe pneumonia on Feb 5.
Acting Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sekher Warrier, advised members of public not to spread falsehoods. SPF said it takes a very stern view against anyone who doctors a Government website to spread false information to deceive the public. Individuals who do so must be prepared to face the consequences under the law, police stated.
SUSPECT IS A MINOR IN THE EYES OF THE LAW
Mr Shashi Nathan, Partner in the Criminal Litigation Practice in KhattarWong, told Channel NewsAsia that the suspect's age means he may be charged in the Youth Court, within the Family Justice Courts.
Mr Nathan added that it is premature to discuss charges as police have not completed their investigations.
"At this stage, we don't know the motivation - if any - for why he did this, or whether there are any other factors which might mitigate or explain his behaviour," Mr Nathan said. "We will have to wait for police to complete their investigations and for the state to consider how to deal with the conclusion - whether they decide to charge him; (as for) what charges, we will have to wait and see."
Mr Nathan noted that the Courts will take into account various factors, including the youth of the suspect - if they do charge him.
"It may be a youthful prank; it may be a bit more insidious. We will not know. What is clear is that it has not gone down well," he said.
Mr Nathan also said the suspect is likely to face the same offence if charged in Youth Court.
"Under Youth Court, they have wider powers of how to deal younger persons - such as probation, reformative training, or to stay in a controlled environment like a boys' home. These are options available to a Youth Court judge," he said.