Choo Zheng Xi -
Alan Shadrake’s book “Once a Jolly Hangman” makes for uncomfortable reading. One case in particular might have made those in power uncomfortable enough to arrest Mr Shadrake on the rarely used draconian charge of criminal defamation.
A defamation action is usually instituted in civil proceedings by a person or an institution that believes its reputation has been harmed by a statement of the defendant. Even Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew used a civil defamation action in pursuing his detractors in the international press and local opposition.
Criminal defamation brings the resources of the State to bear in what is essentially a question of protecting personal reputations.
In 2009, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) intervened to discontinue proceedings in a criminal defamation action on the grounds that “the law of criminal defamation is not to be resorted to lightly”. The AGC noted that in a civil action, the possibility that costs may be awarded against an unsuccessful plaintiff acts as a natural barrier to frivolous action. There is no such safeguard in criminal defamation.
The United Kingdom abolished criminal defamation in July 2009.
So what agitated the authorities enough to arrest Alan Shadrake for criminal defamation, amongst other charges?
The Vignes Mourthi case?
One possible contender is his characterization of the trial and execution of Vignes Mourthi as “arguably one of the most appalling miscarriages of justice in Singapore’s history”.
Vignes Mourthi was arrested on 20 September 2001 and convicted of trafficking 27.65 grams of heroin.
Mourthi’s conviction rested largely on the strength of evidence of the officer who arrested him, Sgt S Rajkumar, a senior officer of the Central Narcotics Bureau. Sgt Rajkumar was a key witness in the prosecution’s case, and Mourthi’s defense was that an incriminating piece of evidence collected by Rajkumar had been added at a much later date.
Shadrake reveals that just three days after Mourthi’s arrest, on 23 September 2001, Sgt. Rajkumar was himself arrested for allegedly handcuffing, raping and sodomizing a young woman and for subsequently bribing her to keep silent.
In the judgment convicting Rajkumar of bribery, Judge Sia Ai Kor described his actions as “so obviously corrupt by the ordinary and objective standard that he must know his conduct is corrupt”.
Shadrake points out how the ongoing case against Rajkumar was never revealed to Mourthi’s defense lawyer, and surmises that the prosecutor and other parties must have known about Rajkumar’s case but chose to keep silent.
In his book, Shadrake characterizes Mourthi’s case as groundbreaking enough to resemble the “catastrophic failures of the justice system in Britain” that contributed to the death penalty being abolished there.
If Shadrake is right, then the authorities could very well be stepping up to the criminal defamation plate to contest his version of events.
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legal eagle, Conflicted and Roy – more members of PAP’s Internet Brigade? They all sound very fake/intentionally obtuse and their opinions mirror PAP’s typical propaganda.
I wish this will create such a backlash in Britain that they dig deep into colonial records and expose all the false history we have been feed alll this years by the MIW.
We are back to the Tang dynasty!
万岁~万岁~万万岁~~~~
Defamation is a serious offence. Pugdragon feels that even if the facts are not 100% correct the government should let them be. But doesn’t that rather depends on what is not ’100% correct’? If I called pugdragon a thief it may be buried in a thoudand other truths but he would sue me and rightly so.
This is the stance of the Singaopore government. You can call it stupid, misguided, wrong-headed, mixed-up priorities and you will be left alone. There will be rebuttals but you will not find yourself in court. In some cases, the government might even change its policy as in the case of the attempt to put a smaller weight on Chinese.
Defamation law is what as indivdiuals we would want – a law that protects us if we are smeared. So why not for the government when the consequences are so much greater? If the government is silent, over a period of time, a false idea of a corrput govenrment takes root and then what? A loss of respect and increased cynicism for the people that governs us. That is disastrous for a small country like Singapore. Say, government ask for greater scrifices in times of crisis. A skeptical and cynical population resist because of a lack of trust engendered by unanswered accusations of corruption – the country doesn’t get out of the hole. So it is right that the government should take this author to court and show the population that what he says is false. Or the government may lose the cae…let’s see what emerges in the court. So the appeal here is..stay your guns.
Going by the MDP for drug trafficking here , this should also be implemented for speeding-caused deaths to stop this from taking root as reported :
Speeding deaths: Consider capital punishment
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_555894.html
If not, then it should be for “economic, business-support, GDP, etc…” reasons!
If this is the case, then MDP for drug trafficking must be review and all present cases be given clemency.
#Traveller
The govt(people behind this move) is trying to right a wrong done.
They know they have been caught napping with this particular case, of Vignes.
They have been doing such tactics for so long that it has become immune to them.
Now it has been highlighted to their dismay.
Thus, lawyers being lawyers want to fight this case on their own turf. Which from my point of view, is one big mistake.
In open court, with a foreigner in the docks, the world watching and following all the moves. It is going to be firworks.
Now they are proberbly thinking from which angle to come from. I just hope Ravi accepts the help he is going to get from around the world.
The world is watching and they have already read the book. Unlike most of us in Singapore. Need to ask Alan if it can be uploaded bit by bit, without infringing copyright laws.
# Conflicted
Some people have the ‘balls’. They like to do what is right and will do it, even if it means sacrifice.
I hope at some point in life you get it too.
Traveller 21 July 2010
Defamation is a serious offence. Pugdragon feels that even if the facts are not 100% correct the government should let them be. But doesn’t that rather depends on what is not ‘100% correct’? If I called pugdragon a thief it may be buried in a thoudand other truths but he would sue me and rightly so.
…………………..
and if you called whoever is a thief..
who should handle the case?
how come its endup with CID handlin this incident?
Whoever you are, with due respect, asking Alan Shadrake to upload the book bit by bit. He is a freeland journalist and he writes true stuff and books for a living and he sells to publisher. If he upload bit by bit, then he cannot make money. Not even any publishers who have not seek his permission can publish or print this book. Hope this helps!!!
Do you guys know how to get the book in Singapore? Too troublesome to go to JB to buy. Need to read the book to make up my own mind. Is the book banned or not?
@small sotong,
Order the book online through the lines of Amazon.com. It will soon be available.
@ Traveller “Defamation law is what as indivdiuals we would want – a law that protects us if we are smeared. So why not for the government when the consequences are so much greater? If the government is silent, over a period of time, a false idea of a corrput govenrment takes root and then what?”
1) Defamation law is for individuals as you say, not undying entities like the state. It is not to protect the government’s reputation but perhaps, in limited circumstances, the people who run it. Though I absolutely abhor the fact that there is no defence of qualified privilege. The Lee family has used defamation law to silence legitimate criticism for example
2)No one is arguing that government remains silent. They have a right to free speech too so you just created a straw man argument.
What they should not have the power to do is silence criticism.. they can respond with facts if they so choose.
There is a Malay saying that goes “Angry at the mosquito, burn the whole net”.
If really what he wrote is so wrong, counter it with facts, not try the person! If WKS can take his time to write an 8 paragraph statement on Gomez, why can’t they do the same?
And defamation? Please lah. How many books out there are 100% factually correct? Why are the authors of those books did not get into trouble.
This trial is just a waste of public money!
Like many, many people have said, a far better solution is for the Government to counter this with facts, not trails.
Of course, the irony in all this is that this is possibly the best publicity a book can get.
the problem is that singapore do not have a jury system
all sentence is pass down by PAP judges paid by the regime
of course the boss is always right
singapore is always given this phase
I do not know how many who have left comments have actually read Shadrake’s book. I found it rather lightweight and was disappointed by it. The book dealt with a serious issue, but if the author does not even get such basic facts as dates correct then the entire project is diminished in value. On page 33 of his book Shadrake states that the 18 convicted Pulau Senang murderers were executed in 1964, while in fact the eighteen men were hanged on 29 October 1965. On page 41 he states that ” The 18 corpses were lined up in the prison morgue awaiting disposal. The unclaimed bodies were sent to a crematorium chosen by the prison; the others taken by grieving relatives for funeral services according to their religion”. Again Shadrake got his facts wrong. In fact the 18 bodies were brought to the General Hospital Mortuary in Outram Road in a large van and there was a huge crowd outside the mortuary awaiting their arrival.
Like Shadrake I am opposed to capital punishment because like caning it is a form of torture which brutalises not only its victims, but also the society in whose name it is carried out. However unlike Shadrake I do not believe that capital punishment is something imposed on an unwilling public by what he regards as an entrenched totalitarian government. On the contrary I think that a very definite majority of the Singapore population support both the institutions of capital and corporal punishment because they genuinely believe in their deterrent value. Whether they are right or wrong to hold such views is really a matter for Singaporeans and not outsiders.
Vignes Mourthi was arrested on 20 September 2001 and convicted of trafficking 27.65 grams of heroin.
Mourthi’s conviction rested largely on the strength of evidence of the officer who arrested him, Sgt S Rajkumar, a senior officer of the Central Narcotics Bureau. Sgt Rajkumar was a key witness in the prosecution’s case, and Mourthi’s defense was that an incriminating piece of evidence collected by Rajkumar had been added at a much later date.
Shadrake reveals that just three days after Mourthi’s arrest, on 23 September 2001, Sgt. Rajkumar was himself arrested for allegedly handcuffing, raping and sodomizing a young woman and for subsequently bribing her to keep silent.
How did this shit happen in a judicary who claim no mistakes are made. I am no graduate but this taste shit in my mouth. I pay taxes for the best not fo such a grave mistake. Tell me more
Please
Some parts of this book are bordering on the vague and baseless.
For instance, Alan claimed that Singapore struck a deal with German banks securing German investment in Singapore in return for Singapore excusing a German lady from the death penalty.
However Alan failed to reveal any source for his ‘claim’ and simply accounted for his failure by saying he could not have obtained such evidence without breaking the law in Singapore.
Quite a cheap shot on Alan’s part, don’t you think ?
But I do agree that as baseless as Alan’s book is, the Singaporean government could have used a more PR-friendly approach of debunking his various claims on fact-against-allegation basis instead of a high-handed arrest. The arrest is simply lending undue credence and publicity to this Alan character.
Aiya, this one PAP don’t want other countries to know about the death penalty, no freedom of speech, and low civil rights.
He is a resident in Malaysia and is not someone who is not familiar with Singapore.
Given the Singapore government track record on these matters, he was kind of stupid to promote his book in Singapore. He was just asking for trouble. Or just a publicity stunt?
Before anyone comments any further please read the book. It borders on the baseless and seriously if anyone takes him seriously after reading it I’d be very worried for Singapore. Anyone can write nonsense it takes a proper writer to research his facts properly.
I live in Asia and make a point NEVER to travel to Singapore.
There is NO free speech in Singapore and, as a writer, why would I choose to spend my tourist dollars there? I also tell all my friends to avoid Singapore. Malaysia is a nice place to visit and doesn’t have the same lack of freedom of speech that Singapore does.
Too bad. But until Singapore’s government starts to allow basic human rights, it will be a cold day in hell before I travel there.
I did however make it a point to BUY Shadrake’s book and have also bought several other copies to give as Christmas gifts to friends around Asia.
Of late close secret associations is forged between elite law firms and State Institutions, like the ISD, for the purpose of softening any hapless citizen who happens to be litigating against the client of certain elite law firm. Developments such as this when reported to the competent authorities receive no response. Defamation laws clam down mouths. Singapore may be in danger of being a rogue police state if the muffling is so total and complete, as mediated by the defamation laws inherited from the British. Let us see whether the Shadrake case can bring some relief to the affected citizenry who perforce must suffer in frustration and silence.
I am replying to AFriendInNeed. Now that we have a small opposition in Parliament in Aljunied GRC, although merely a foothold, I would like to suggest that we ask for people who have become victims of elites teaming up with State Institutions to hound them to tell their stories of how they have been harassed. This kind of symbiosis is common in the failed States of the Middle East where the Elites routinely get the secret police on the trail of their enemies to crush them. In these states the tyranny is open, where people are pulled out of their cars and smacked. Here in Singapore it is more covert.Here a prominent personality close to the Govt, frequently a ‘top’lawyer, calls his friends in the ISD to do the job on his enemy. Nowadays because of the bad press on Muslims, MUIS is also a great player. Together, in one case, MUIS and the ISD weave a web of lies into the personal identity electronic records of of their targets in the ICA. So the hapless citizen is victimized by checks and threats each time he makes an appearance at an Immigration Checkpoint. His complaints to the Authorities typically will not elicit any response or at best negative response. Even the AG will scorn him and refuse the State’s Courts to investigate why he is tormented. The victim is forced into a desperate state of being assailed by unknown forces for undeclared crimes. This will continue until the end of his litigation where he will be soundly trounced by a judge who is also a part of this symbiotic arrangement.
There is an evil symbiotic arrangement between elites and State Institutions which can readily be commandeered to go after the enemies of the elites’ friends. No longer are these premier policing institutions focussed on enemies of the State ( Mas Selamat escaped because the security police are running all over the place in errands for their political masters).
I hope that people will read this posting of mine and yours and add to the narrative, so that we can get a groundswell of evidence of this sort of corruption. You must know that being in control of the electronic identity records is a strategic tool to cow anyone because every aspect of his life can then be monitored and assasinated. This kind of ambush is the sharp edge of States that are consolidating power beyond normal politics. We have got to stop it before it becomes widespread. I have a feeling that it is already widespread but our genteel population do not want to tell of how they have been violated by a string of thuggish State Institutions at the behest of elite lawyers on instructions of clients
Alan Shadrake, the above is a one description of our travails. I salute you for being there before we ever guessed that our condition is so bad. I hope that you have the wherewithal to fight off this menace and be free again. No one can guess the extent and frightfulness of the Kafkaesque atmosphere in our justice system until he has the misfortune to cross any of the favored sons or daughters of the State. Then he will find the State Institutions lined up to destroy him. It is easy to do so with the backing of State Resources. It is now after the elections. PAP is still in power.Although the PM has promised better things for his subjects, I do not think he is capable of curbing his powerful lapdogs in their forages for victims in the city. Unless he takes his own post election promise seriously, to listen to the citizenry the worse abuse will come. Then he should make investigations. Take action against the lapdogs who go too far.
For replacement, all I can say is that Ive never lost a phone so far, and hope that I never do. Youre right that it would be much more expensive to replace in that case. The two things I have going for me are that I could buy a model with less memory (I have the larger memory now) and that the newer models cost less than my current phone would have when I bought it.