Friday, July 26, 2013

Demon-cratic's Buttocks Thumped, Again

Once more with feeling! Poor Leslie Chew is getting famous once more. Not sedition but contempt of court! SDP is bound to back their favourite cartoonist as they have done so in the past. Why is AGC out to thump Demon-cratic again? Two simple reasons. The earlier sedition charges were not punitive enough and the cartoons did not stop or at least tone down despite the obvious warning to Leslie to stay low.

Hence, if Demon-cratic was dumb enough to be stubborn, urged on by his fans, friends and SDP for all we know, AGC is going to take action for the Super White and fine and/or jail Leslie to scare the monkeys. Too bad for Leslie but it is all good for him as he wants to be a rebel. It gives his defiant cartoons more street cred and omph. But why pick Leslie and not the others?  Also why now? Hmmm part of the broader hard touching of some but not others in the Internet?

BTW Anti-death penalty UK citizen Alan Shadrake was sentenced 6 weeks jail and fined $20,000 for scandalising the judiciary.  I'm not a big fan of Demon-cratic's lame messages compared to other cartoonists, also because he used software rather than hand draw like the others, so popcorn out, watching the show and waiting to see what would happen to Leslie. Nothing good I bet! I think 3 weeks and $10,000 fine. Gulp.


Singapore Charges Cartoonist for Alleged Contempt of Court
By Chun Han Wong

Singapore prosecutors are pursuing charges against a local artist for alleged contempt of court over cartoons he drew that authorities say had scandalized the judiciary.

Leslie Chew, 37, has been under police investigation since April for potential wrongdoing in several cartoons he drew for his Internet comic strip. The Attorney-General’s Chambers this week launched formal legal proceedings against Mr. Chew over five of his cartoons, the agency said Thursday in a statement.

The proceedings are “aimed at protecting the administration of justice… and upholding the integrity of one of our key public institutions,” the agency said. Singapore’s High Court accepted the application in relation to four cartoons and set the next hearing Aug. 12.

If found guilty, Mr. Chew could be jailed, fined, or both. Singapore law doesn’t prescribe any maximum penalty for contempt of court.

Mr. Chew said that he would meet his lawyers before deciding his next move. The cartoonist publishes a comic strip on Facebook titled “Demon-cratic Singapore,” which he describes as a “totally fictional comic.” The strip has over 25,800 followers on Facebook.

According to the AGC, the four cartoons cited in the contempt proceedings were published in July 2011, January 2012 and June 2012. Those comic strips made references to  legal proceedings in Singapore courts that had occurred near the time of publication. Two of them mentioned the phrase: “The Kangaroo Court of Singapore.”

In April, police had questioned Mr. Chew over a Dec. 14 cartoon that referred to the recent retirement of a Supreme Court judge, according to Choo Zhengxi, one of Mr. Chew’s lawyers. The questioning followed a letter that the AGC sent Mr. Chew in December, which said that cartoon “scandalizes” Singapore courts through “scurrilous and false” allegations, Mr. Choo previously said. Police and prosecutors have declined to comment. The Dec. 14 cartoon isn’t part of the AGC’s contempt proceedings against Mr. Chew.

Singapore has in the past won several cases of contempt against opposition politicians and foreign publications. Rights activists say the government uses such suits to stifle criticism. Officials say the actions are necessary to defend themselves against false allegations.

Mr. Chew first came under investigation in April, when he was arrested and questioned for alleged sedition after a citizen filed a police complaint against the cartoonist for certain comic strips that the person said were racially insensitive. These cartoons are not the same ones as those currently alleged to be in contempt of court.

The cartoonist was subsequently released on bail while prosecutors considered whether to bring charges. The charges announced Thursday did not include sedition. Singapore law broadly defines sedition as acts agitating against the government and the administration of justice, fostering discontent among citizens, and promoting hostility between ethnic groups.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, while all this is happening, a 21 year old dies in prison and one officer out of eight gets a slap on the wrist. No one, including the coroner seems interested to know the actual cause of death was. I guess the boy's life was dispensable, like the millions misspent or swindled by civil servants.

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