Preventive detention without trial is necessary to protect witnesses and informants from intimidation, according to the recently released National Report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
Since October last year, at least eight Singaporean NGOs have submitted their report on human rights issues, ranging from electoral process, to migrant workers rights to the UPR. The Government’s report is the last to be submitted.
According to the report, preventive detention under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA) and the Internal Security Act (ISA) is permitted ‘as a last resort’.
The report said that the CLTPA is used against persons involved in secret society, drug trafficking, loan sharking and other serious organized criminal activities. The report also claimed that the CLTPA has proven ‘an effective tool in suppressing such crimes’. 290 people were detained under the CLTPA in 2008.
The Government report also said that the ISA had proven ‘particularly effective in addressing the threat of terrorism.’ The ISA is necessary because given the multi-racial and multi-religious make-up of the country, an open trial for cases involving ‘racial and religious agitation’ would provide defendants and their supporters ‘further opportunity for inflammatory remarks.’
The most significant episodes involving the use of the ISA was during Operation Coldstore in 1963, and Operation Spectrum in 1987. Since 2001, 76 Muslims were detained under the ISA for alleged involvement in terrorist activities. Some of these people were detained for 6 – 7 years.
According to Function 8, a group comprising of former ISA detainees, the ISA ”continues to be a real threat to political participation of members of civil society, human rights defenders and opposition political parties as its continued presence in the statute book and its use effectively eliminates all forms of dissent, free speech and association and assembly of citizens.”
You can read the SG National Report here.
The UPR is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all United Nations (UN) Member States once every four years. According to the UPR calender. Singapore is due for a review this year.
the british used isa law against terrorist who is?
the former irish republican army
the american used the official secret act which is to detained all osamabinlatte inc
the chinese communist do not enforced the isa act @ all..they just shoot them just liked north korea…
~period~
With ISA and CLPTA, the lives of innocent people like the so-called Marxistt Conspirators and others WERE endangered,
don’t worry, the punishment will come, sooner than you think….
that stupid goh said community has to come first, WHAT GUTTER GARBAGE, when the poor, unemployed, lower middle class are SQUEEZED of all their EARNINGS and THIEVING OF THEIR CPF.
if the gov is SO RIGHTEOUS, RETURN THE PEOPLE’S MONEY TO THEM.
the gov does not need to hold such money and returned a less than INFLATION rate,
this is PLAIN STEALING, THEIVING and DAYLIGHT ROBBERY !!!
VOTE THEM OUT, NOW, NO MORE WAITING FOR 5 YEARS, NOW !!!
More than half of the countries in the world are multi-religious, multi- racial.Maybe only 5 countries have ISA.
These same 5 are authoritarian.
Please stop using stupid excuses to justify the ISA.
Once again, the authorities are using MUSLIM threat as a excuse for authoritarian measures. Since the US is also doing it, I guess its justifiable.