Reform Party
secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam with his supporters. (Yahoo!
photo)
[UPDATE on 18 Jan at 9:50pm]
Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam said
he filed a police report on Friday
afternoon about online threats against him and his
family.
In a verbal statement he delivered to reporters at a press
conference outside Rivervale Mall on Friday evening, he described
them to be "tantamount to death threats", adding that there were
more than one instance of these warnings made to him, his wife and
his teenaged son.
"I used that phrase (tantamount to death threats) because the
wording of the threats is too awful for me to say aloud, and I am
sorry that I cannot be more precise," said the 53-year-old, one
offour Punggol East by-election
candidates. He added that he later received another "credible
threat of violence".
He said the threats were posted publicly on his Facebook page in recent days since
Nomination Day on Wednesday, as well as directed at
him on Twitter, but have since been taken
down.
"It's caused considerable distress to my son," he
added.
During the 11-minute standing interview, Jeyaretnam also clarified
that these threats issued to him and his family are separate from
an incident of cyber-bullying that he said was linked to his son's
Twitter account. To this, he said police in London are
investigating the incident, and requested that the public refrain
from "escalating" the incident further.
After spending several hours at the Sengkang Neighbourhood Police
Centre earlier on Friday, Jeyaretnam said he did not want to
speculate who the people behind the threats to him and his family
were, but noted that "there obviously are certain people who...
intended to disrupt our campaign".
He said he and his party continues to be "very focused" on his
campaign, however.
"We are very focused... and we are confident that our expertise on
economic issues at the national level, plus our knowledge of the
grassroots and local issues makes us the best-placed among the four
candidates," he said.
Jeyaretnam first made mention to the threats during a walkabout at
Rivervale Mall on Thursday, when he told reporters
that his 16-year-old son, Jared, received "a threat" via
Twitter.
"We have received tantamount to death threats and there are
comments attacking my son and even that something awful will happen
to my wife and son on Facebook and Twitter,” he said.
“I’m not worried. These are people who scared to come out from
behind their keyboards but it has been very upsetting to my son,”
he added.
When asked for further details of the nature of these threats, the
53-year-old former hedge fund manager said they were “general
threats to cause harm to the family.”
A check by Yahoo! Singapore saw a few tweets
exchanged between Twitter handle @smrtsg and Jared, who
just turned 16 earlier this week.
These were subsequently clarified to possibly be linked to the
incidence of "cyber-bullying" referred to by Jeyaretnam in his
statement on Friday evening.
In one tweet dated 16 Jan, @smrtsg tweeted and called Jared a "bad
ass" like his "bankrupted grandfather" only "slightly fairer and
less hairy" -- a reference to JB Jeyaretnam, who was previously the
Workers’ Party leader until 2001 and was the first opposition
politician to gain a seat in Parliament in 1981.
Another tweet by the same handle a day earlier also wished Jared
"happy birthday" but also said "don't be like your father". The
elder Jeyaretnam then interjected, accusing @smrtsg of harassing
his son.
It's not clear who is behind @smrtsg but on its profile
page, SMRT
(Feedback)
@smrtsg described itself as a "parody, role-playing
account" and "all tweets posted by us should not be taken seriously
or as a factual reference".
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Jared acknowledged the Twitter
comments and posted a screencap of the conversation with the
caption, "Mad trolls in Singapore are trying to
bring the fight to me... lol".
In response to Yahoo! Singapore's request for comment
to Jeyaretnam considering filing a police report, @smrtsg said via
Twitter, "We know the law so we found his claim hilarious and a
waste of time".
On claims the wife and son are very upset, the response was: "It's
just 'wayang'. His son replied to us and he didn't seem
upset. It's not gonna stop us from trolling about him
nonetheless."
The elder Jeyaretnam, who is running under the campaign slogan "No
more broken promises", has been the subject of online criticism
from those who believe he will split the opposition votes come
Polling Day on 26 Jan.
Meanwhile, the party says it's coming up with a five-year plan for
Punggol East. This includes improving facilities and setting up a
free legal clinic.
Jeyaretnam said he also received feedback bus services in the area
were poor and that access to the LRT stations need to be improved.
He did not reveal how much the five-year plan will cost and that
details are being worked out at the moment.
RP apology
RP also apologised on its official Facebook page on Thursday for
the “recent tone of posts”.
The party had earlier criticised PAP candidate Dr Koh Poh Koon for
walking past Jeyaretnam while he was being interviewed on
Wednesday, without acknowledging his by-election opponent.
However, while Jeyaretnam was talking to reporters at the foodcourt
at Rivervale Mall on Thursday afternoon, Dr Koh dropped by to have
lunch after his own walkabout in the area.
Both men shook hands.
