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21/05/2008
Singapore Arrests Man for Racist Blog
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Additional Material from Avinology.
Wed May 21, 2008 2:56pm IST
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore arrested a man for allegedly posting racist content on his blog, police said on Wednesday.
The 24 year-old was arrested late on Tuesday for posting material on his blog "which may wound the racial feelings of another person", police said in a statement. The offence carries a maximum prison term of 3 years and a fine.
The arrest comes after police received two complaints about the blog, which has since been removed from the Internet. In 2005, Singapore charged three bloggers under the Sedition Act for making racist comments on the Internet.
The government of the ethnically mixed Southeast Asian city-state of 4.6 million is highly sensitive about race and religion and says strict legislation and regulation of the media is needed to ensure peace.
In Singapore, 51 percent of the population are Buddhist, 14.6 percent are Christian and 14.9 percent are Muslim.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee)
Here is what he wrote...
Weirdo In 1st World Country
See, to me…no matter how highly Singapore sits on the map there is still the part we cant erase… and thats the heartlanders and those gross out people in society… why cant we be like Milan where everyone is so well dressed and well-mannered??
We shall not even touch on politics on Mas Salamat, which of course… if you have realised, i didnt bother talking about it, coz there are many other bloggers conversing on that.
So so so… what is this pathetic malay man (again, it have to be a MALAY!!!!) doing in the train?
well, he was already in the train when i boarded and there he sat, unaffected by his surroundings, smelling like he didnt showered in years and wore some really scary dirty clothes and had a dirty muddy bag with him too, in it were empty bottles which looks used… to many, he may seem a poor man or a beggar.. but… to me.. he’s wasted !!
I mean… wassup with all the pretentious looks and actions for man….go get a job or better yet, make himself useful and learn how to start a fire using charcoal.. as it all lies in their blood…. SATAY SATAY!!!!
Aiya….stupid MALAYS!!
Even if you are a Malay and am reading this… good for you..coz this is my personal blog and i can say what i deem fit…. if u wana defend yourself…. i suggest you arm youself with education and a motor mouth to compete against me.. else dont bother… coz i will bet my life on the line that, should you challenge me in a conversation… you will lose like what a true malay would…. LIKE FUCK !!!
GET LOST!!
He has since then removed the posts and put an apology in its place.
Blogger arrested for posting racist online content
The Straits Times
He claims that he wrote it only for friends and will apologise online
A LOCAL blogger who ranted about a commuter's behaviour on an MRT train was arrested on Tuesday night.
Police said the 24-year-old Chinese man was taken from his home at Paya Lebar Way at about 9.45 pm for 'posting contents in his blog which may wound the racial feelings of another person'.
A computer, believed to be used to post the suspect's blog, was seized for investigations, which are ongoing.
The case came to the attention of police on May 19 when they received two reports complaining of the alleged posts by the suspect.
According to a report in The New Paper on Wednesday, the blog was apparently sparked off by the suspect seeing a man of an another race sitting on the floor of an MRT train.
The blogger, an undergraduate, allegedly wrote: 'There he sat, unaffected by his surroundings, smelling like he didn't showered (sic) in years and wore some really scary dirty clothes...'
Sedition Act: Past Cases
Last month: Ong Kian Cheong, 49, and wife, Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, 44, charged under Sedition Act and Undesirable Publications Act for allegedly distributing evangelistic publication that cast Prophet Muhammad in negative light
2006: 21-year-old accounts assistant given stern warning for putting up offensive cartoon of Jesus on blog
2005: 27-year-old man becomes first since 1966 to be jailed - for a month - under the Sedition Act for posting racist comments online. In connected case, 25-year-old given day's jail and fined maximum $5,000. Later that year, 17-year-old blogger given probation.
He went on to make other offensive comments about that racial group in his tirade, drawing flak from local netizens, who called him a racist.
One net-user wrote: 'Stupidity has nothing to do with race at all. Just look to that blogger for proof that stupidity transcends all races.'
Added another: 'Some things, once said, cannot be retraced. Don't even make such stupid remarks in the first place.'
Under Section 298 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, anyone with deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person, causes any matter however represented to be seen or heard by that person, can be jailed up to three years, or fine, or both, if convicted.
Deputy Commander of Central Police Div HQ, Superintendent Lee Ping Yue, in a statement late on Tuesday, said that police take a serious view of such irresponsible blog postings in a multi-racial society like Singapore and 'will expend all efforts in tracking the perpetrators'.
Interviewed by TNP earlier on Tuesday before his arrest, the blogger said he was sorry for what he had written and would be more mindful of what he says in his blog in future.
He said he was shocked by the furore over his blog entry, which he said was only intended for his close friends. He added that he was surprised that the entry, which was written two months ago, started circulating only days ago.
'I am a very expressive person - my style of writing is over the top. I write this way to make my entries more punchy and exciting,' he told TNP.
He denied being a racist and maintained that he did not harbour any ill will towards the racial group he wrote about.
But he let on that he was in a particularly bad mood the day he wrote the blog entry.
'I meant what I wrote in a different way. If people read it in another way, there is nothing much I can do,' he said, adding that he planned to put up an online apology for his comments.
He has removed the post and password-protected his blog, which was featured on blog aggregator Tomorrow.sg, and linked to several popular online forums.
14:30 Permalink | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (1) | Email this | Tags: New Media, blogs, Racism
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Comments
The guy comes across as a juvenile idiot who thinks rather too highly of himself, but can barely string together a coherent sentence. Not that I remotely agree with locking people up for sedition.
Obviously, he hasn't tried an American or European subway..
Posted by: rob | 22/05/2008
Hahaha. I can't believe that he says he blogs for his friends to see it only. How stupid can that get? the very moment you blog, what you have written is made public. Blogging is for public view. How stupid can that get?
Posted by: liaogz | 22/05/2008
He's a silly, nasty little shit and publicly "naming and shaming" him is a great idea, as is public condemnation and social ostracisation -- like being fired from his job, or having his customers desert him.
He should not be arrested though. He didn't threaten anyone. Seditious speech laws are just nonsense and should be thrown out. In fact any laws supressing speech to "protect the feelings" of certain groups or individuals should not even be on the books.
So what if someone insulted, mocked or ridiculed your culture, race, religion, political leaning, father, mother, mother's genitalia, hair style, dress code, car education or lack of, your manner of speech, gait, physical traits...and so on. So what?
All one has to do is get over it. Like a bloody ADULT.
Posted by: Matilah_Singapura | 22/05/2008
seriously, nobody knows who post what, why they post it, what the fk they're doing in the world or what their profiles and seriously, who gives a fk? you? majority of them are idiotic in that sense when on line. the anti establishment maybe a mole. you sure the person is not? unless you have the resources to speculate like those who turn up in events uninvited. other than that, who gives a shit? read all the nonsense, quietly thk whoever the fk who put up information if its useful and if not, move on.the information highway.
only nutcases are the ones who bother to find out the identities(probably some kind of obsession in which they need to check into some mental institution) as for the millions out there, majority dont give a fk. its like being immune to all the gore in games/movies. or unless you got no life like those who crash into events for their masters or running after idols like some crazy fans. lol. sheesh, go get a life and stop sticking your noses up somebody smelly assholes! lol!
Posted by: rojak king | 22/05/2008
"So what if someone insulted, mocked or ridiculed your culture, race, religion, political leaning, father, mother, mother's genitalia, hair style, dress code, car education or lack of, your manner of speech, gait, physical traits...and so on. So what?
All one has to do is get over it. Like a bloody ADULT."
That's the price of leadership the most powerful man on earth understood.
Posted by: NoLeader | 22/05/2008
Only mistake this guy made was naming a race. I mean, I know that there are loads of arrogant idiots out there that use the MRT daily. I came to Singapore and learned long ago that when you alight from an MRT you dont say "excuse me" when someone tries to rush into the train even before the doors have completely opened and hit you. Instead you square your shoulders and make like an American football player and just barge through cause that is what is expected with these idiots. Now, see, I didnt say 'the chinese, who are constantly pushing trying to get ahead and grab the seat first or be the first one on the train showing their superiority', or I didnt say "the Indian people who have no couth or upbringing" or even "the malay who...well, lets face it are just malay". Instead I just said "the people".
Why? cause no matter what race, religion or culture you are, there are always ignorant jackasses around. From the people that put their headphones on to listen to music so loud that they cant hear the people going "EXCUSE ME" behind them because the morons are blocking the door; from the kids that sit on the MRT on the floor when it is packed and refuse to move (to which I aim for their hands on the floor to step on), or the men that sleep at the door on the floor (to which I aim to bump into when I walk in or out). To the ignorant caucasians that step on the train thinking that they own it and dont say 'excuse me' but instead just square their shoulders and barge their way through the throngs of people.
Also, guess he was wrong. It isnt his own personal ideas and all.
Posted by: Capt_Canuck | 22/05/2008
he is a fuuny guy ....
Posted by: hm | 23/05/2008
Looks like this blogger isn't as smart as he thinks he is.
What a bloody idiot! Young & stupid. Typical of one who cannot or know not how to constructively and intelligently make a point. They resort to name calling and racist remarks.
A real moron! He'll start crying the minute he's locked up. Just wait and see.
Posted by: GaylordFocker | 24/05/2008
To agree that this idiot should go to jail simply "hurting people's feelings" adds weight to the argument that Lee & Co have a basis for suing people for attacking their character.
If that is the sort of society you want, go for it!
Posted by: Matilah_Singapura | 24/05/2008
But there's a difference between conducting oneself in a dignified and poised manner in a public domains and conducting oneself in a spoilt and insecure manner being a public figure.
If you ask me, both Lee & Co and this young racists punk have their own price to pay.
Posted by: GaylordFocker | 24/05/2008
No human is perfect but it doesn't mean oneself can be humiliated by other. I still remember what my father told me when I was young. Never never never condamn others as when you are pointing one finger to other, don't forget there are another three fingers pointing at you. Fair and Successful Human is always helping those are not fortunate. Blaming, scolding, teasing, ..... doesn't help to improve things. So behave yourself because not everybody like you. I am born as a Chinese too but I don't behave like you. If everybody have human sense, the world will be a better place to stay. If not, .......
Posted by: Andre Irwan | 29/05/2008
there are lots of such cases out on the internet, http://xoxokisses-c.blogspot.com/, she wrote about the philipinos, though its not too much, people would still feel offended.
Posted by: B | 01/06/2008
undergrad some more....... hahahaha
Posted by: zico | 05/09/2008