Good news, Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin were released from prison. Siok Chin came out on Saturday and Soon Juan yesterday (Sunday). The news was reported on the Singapore Democrats site. Which also features a longer piece by human rights lawyer, Chia Ti Lik.
Mr Chia’s post is a strong rebuttal of denigrating attacks on Chee Soon Juan in the government-controlled Singapore press.
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freedom of speech, Singapore | Tagged: Chee Siok Lin, Chee Soon Juan, freedom of speech, Singapore | 
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Posted by Ethical Martini
This post on the interesting and bolshie Sgpolitics.net website confirms that the Chees are in jail in Singapore. The news-blog Sgpolitics.net reports a lively protest outside the prison on Friday night:
The candle-light vigil for Dr Chee Soon Juan at the Queenstown Remand Prison last Friday night ended with a difference.
Departing from the normal, the more than 30 SDP members, supporters and activists sang the song “We shall overcome” with gusto as bewildered guards inside prison gates were startled and stared with a sense of loss at the group outside.
The emotionally charged number reverberated through the still night, prompting the impromptu choir to go for an encore.
Dr Chee is serving 12 days in prison for a contempt-of-court offence.
His sister, Chee Siok Chin, is also in prison for the same offence. [read Sgpolitics.net]
It’s time to step up demands for their release and for the dropping of all charges of contempt and defamation against the brother and sister activists.
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Posted by Ethical Martini
More grim news from Singapore. Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan was sentenced to 12 days in jail on Monday 2 June. He was found guilty of contempt of court during his own defamation trial.
According to a report in the AFR [4 June p.53], it was a “theatrical performance”:
Chee said justice in Singapore had been “kicked”, “raped” and “quartered”. I can’t link to the story because it’s PPV.
Chee and his sister, Chee Siok Chin, are also facing longer jail terms and heavy fines for speaking in public without a permit. He is bankrupt, so very likely to go to jail.
In my view the Chees would be political detainees – or as Amnesty International might put it, they’d be “prisoners of conscience”, like Soon Juan was in 1999.
Leave a Comment » | freedom of speech, police state, Singapore | Tagged: Chee Siok Chin, Chee Soon Juan, contempt of court, defamation, freedom of speech, Singapore | Permalink
Posted by Ethical Martini
