By Kevin Lim and Eveline Danubrata
SINGAPORE | Fri Jul 26, 2013 4:34am
EDT
(Reuters) - Singapore government lawyers have
started legal proceedings that could result in a political
cartoonist serving a jail term, in another sign that the
long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is becoming increasingly
intolerant of opponents, critics said.
Chew Peng Ee, known to followers of his "Demon-cratic Singapore"
site on Facebook as Leslie Chew, had committed contempt of court
"by scandalizing
the judiciary of the Republic of Singapore", the
Attorney-General's Chambers said in a statement on Thursday.
The charges stemmed from four cartoons that Chew had published in
2011 and 2012, three of which were about the perceived unfairness of the courts
when imposing punishment. His case will be heard on
August 12.
Chew has already been investigated for sedition for alleging
official discrimination against Singapore's ethnic Malay minority
and is out on police bail, his lawyer said.
There are no prescribed penalties for contempt of court in
Singapore and the judge could issue a warning or fine instead of a
jail sentence. For sedition, a person could be fined up to S$5,000
($3,900) or jailed up to three years, or both.
Prosperous, multi-racial Singapore, a key U.S. ally, has long taken
a tough stand against criticism of the government. Leaders have
taken legal action against critics, saying they needed to protect
their reputations.
The most recent case of a critic being jailed took place in 2011
when Alan
Shadrake, a British writer, was sentenced to six weeks in prison
for contempt of court and scandalizing the judiciary with a book
about the death penalty in Singapore.
Government spokesmen were not immediately available for comment on
the case of the cartoonist.
NEW LAW
Singapore
recently introduced laws to license news websites that report
regularly on the city-state, in a move seen by many as a bid to
control the spread of anti-government reports and commentary via
social media.
Such reports and commentaries were believed to have contributed to
gains by the opposition in a general election in 2011.
"The PAP government has essentially decided it
needs to tame the blogosphere and social media," said blogger Alex
Au.
Au, who uses the nickname Yawning Bread, this
week accused the government in a blog post of trying to re-create a
"climate of fear" to silence critics.
"This change of tack is becoming clearer by the week as more and
more instances arise where ministers and members of parliament go
out to bash citizens trying to raise issues or comment on current
affairs," he said.
Zuraidah Ibrahim, deputy editor of the pro-government Straits Times
newspaper, wrote in a recent column that clashes between the PAP and the
opposition Workers' Party had become more heated as Singapore
reached the middle of the electoral cycle.
Both sides were
trying to mobilize supporters ahead of elections that must be
called by 2016, she said.
"There have been criticisms from among the party faithful that the
PAP has allowed itself to be too much of a punching bag since the
last general election. They want to see their leaders coming out of
the corner swinging."
(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Robert Birsel)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/26/us-singapore-dissent-idUSBRE96P0AF20130726?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
