Update: Chee Siok Chin and John Tan
released
Ms Chee Siok Chin and Mr John Tan were released after police held
them without providing a reason when the two appeared outside the
Shangri-la Hotel this afternoon.
They arrived at about 5.00 pm at Orchard Towers when they were told
that a group of Burmese were gathering there to stage a protest
march. Ms Chee and Mr Tan were there to lend support to the
protesters.
By 5.45pm, both SDP leaders decided to take a walk towards
Shangrila Hotel as there were no protesters in sight.
As they approached Orchard Hotel, plainclothes police were seen
scurrying to set up their video cameras and getting on their cell
phones. As the two turned into Orange Grove Road, a group of police
officers approached them and warned the duo that they were in a
protected area and that they should turn back.
There were at least three other members of the public who walked
past them towards the Shangri-la Hotel and they were not stopped or
given any warning by the police.
Mr Tan and Ms Chee thanked the police for the warnings and walked
on. About 100 m from the hotel, female police officers surrounded
Ms Chee and prevented her from walking on.
At this point a senior police officer was summoned to the scene. He
asked Ms Chee what her intention was walking towards the hotel. Ms
Chee told the police that she was intending to have a meal there.
Despite this, the police prevented the both of them from
proceeding.
An unmarked police van then pulled up and Ms Chee was forced into
the van. Mr John Tan was subsequently dragged into the same van.
When asked if they had committed any offence, the woman officer by
the name of Thean Siew Khin said no. When asked if they were under
arrest, another officer Ng Chee Wei also said no.
So why were they being forced into this unmarked police van? None
of the five police officers in the van could answer them.
When asked where the two were being taken, they said "your
headquarters". Ms Chee told them that her car was parked at Orchard
Hotel and asked to be let off. She realised that the police were
taking them to the former SDP headquarters along Serangoon
Road.
After spending some 40 minutes in the van, the police finally
realised that the SDP had moved out of the office in Serangoon
Road. The driver was then given instructions to send Ms Chee and Mr
Tan back to Orchard Hotel.
What right did the police have in stopping Ms Chee and Mr Tan from
heading to the Shangri-la Hotel when other people were allowed
to?
What right did the police have in man-handling the both and forcing
them into a vehicle which was not even a police van (PA
2448J)?
Was it legal for the police to take them to a place against their
will when they had not committed any offence?
Was this not a form of illegal detention?
Citizens of Singapore are supposed to be protected by the police.
Instead Ms Chee and Mr Tan were harassed, discriminated against,
and held without any reason.
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleburmaprotest67.html
