Britain’s Foreign Office is seeking more information on the
arrest of one of its citizens, a veteran author, in Singapore.
Alan Shadrake, 75, was arrested on Sunday
on charges of criminal defamation and contempt of court, barely a
day after he launched a book on the death penalty in the
city-state. He remains in police custody pending
an investigation.
A statement obtained by Yahoo! Singapore also confirmed that the
British High Commission in Singapore is in touch with the
author.
“We can confirm that we have been informed about
the detention of Mr Alan Shadrake on 18 July 2010 and are providing
consular assistance,” said a spokesperson in an emailed
statement.
Shadrake’s arrest comes after the Media Development Authority lodged a report the
eve of his book launch, the Singapore police said in a statement.
Mr Shadrake has also been served with an application by the
attorney-general for “an order of committal for contempt of court”,
it said.
News of the author’s arrest has made headlines in
newspapers across the world, including in England, India,
Canada and Australia.
In an email to Reuters on July 3, Shadrake called
himself a “British freelance journalist and author”
who planned to launch his latest book “Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the
Dock” in the city-state on Saturday.
His book, which was released for sale at Kinokuniya’s Ngee Ann
City store last month but which has since been taken off the
shelves, alleges double standards in Singapore’s use of
the death penalty.
According to The Straits Times, the 219-page
book was filled with accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore
involving the use of the death penalty. It also included
interviews with Darshan Singh, the long-time chief executioner
at Singapore’s Changi Prison, who has since retired.
Shadrake, who has written articles for London’s Daily
Telegraph and other newspapers, told AFP after the book’s
Singapore launch on Saturday that he had expected trouble, but felt
that the authorities were not going to take action.
“If they do anything, it’ll just draw more attention to it all,
and they have no defence,” he had said.
-Yahoo! News
