Police reports have been filed against a sociopolitical site and
two individuals who may have violated a ban on election advertising
during the Cooling-Off Day and on Polling Day for the Bukit Batok
by-election.
The Elections Department (ELD) said on Friday (May 27) that the
Assistant Returning Officer filed police reports against The
Independent Singapore (TISG) and two individuals, Ms Teo Soh Lung
and Mr Roy Ngerng.
The articles were published on May 6 which was Cooling-Off Day, and
Polling Day on May 7.
Posting election advertising is prohibited on Cooling-Off Day and
Polling Day to give voters time to reflect rationally on the issues
raised by candidates before they vote, said the ELD.
Election advertising is defined as any material posted on any
platform that is intended to enhance the standing of, or promote
electoral success for, an identifiable party or candidate.
In filing the police reports, the Assistant Returning Officer took
into consideration the nature of the postings and the potential
impact that they might have had.
"Sociopolitical sites such as TISG that regularly promote,
propagate and discuss political issues should be accountable and
responsible for what they publish," said the ELD.
It added that TISG continued to publish articles even after being
specifically reminded by the Assistant Returning Officer not to
post any election advertising during Cooling-Off Day and Polling
Day.
The Independent uploaded two articles on Cooling-Off Day
itself.
One was on highlights of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman
Shanmugaratnam's speech at the People's Action Party's (PAP) final
rally on May 5, and the other summarised what Workers' Party
members had said about the by-election.
On Polling Day, TISG also published an article titled "Tan Cheng
Bock denies involvement in posting by irrational group of PAP
fans".
As for Ms Teo and Mr Ngerng, the ELD noted that both of them
"regularly engage in the propagation, promotion and discussion of
political issues".
Ms Teo, a former political detainee who contested in Yuhua during
the 2011 General Election on a Singapore Democratic Party ticket,
published four posts on her Facebook account from 2.16am to 7.45am
on Cooling-Off Day.
These included an SDP photo calling for support for Dr Chee
Soon Juan - the SDP's secretary-general and candidate in the
by-election - and a picture containing quotes from unidentified
individuals about why they would vote for Dr Chee.
As for Mr Ngerng, a blogger, he posted at 2.08pm on Cooling-Off Day
calling for submissions of photographs for a campaign titled "I
believe in Chee Soon Juan".
On the same day, he published an article on his blog about the same
photo campaign.
Posting election advertising on Cooling-Off Day and Polling Day is
an offence under Section 78B(1) of the Parliamentary Elections
Act.
Any person who is convicted of such an offence may be fined up to
$1,000 and/or jailed up to 12 months.
ST
