Ministry's response

Dr Chee rebutts

POLITICIAN Chee Soon Juan was released from prison last Saturday – his five-week jail term ending one-and-a-half weeks early for good behaviour.

The Singapore Democratic Party chief, who opted to go to jail rather than pay a $5000 fine for speaking in public without a permit, has since released a three-page statement to the media, accusing the Government of treating him poorly in prison.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has refuted Chee's latest claims. Here are the key points made by both parties.

Marked food trays

Chee SAID: The food served to him in prison made him nauseous and dizzy, and distorted his "auditory senses". He noted that his food tray had been marked, and said the symptoms stopped when he skipped a couple of meals. He asked the Government to explain why his tray had been marked with an "S".

THE MHA SAID: It is normal prisons procedure to record the food consumption of all inmates under close watch. It said that it had also monitored the food intakes of Chee's associates, Yap Keng Ho and Ghandi Ambalam, following the declaration by Yap that he was going on a hunger strike. It said that it had done the same when Chee was in prison in Oct 2002 and again in March this year. He had not complained then, said the MHA.

Medical reports

Chee SAID: He and his family members claim to have repeatedly asked for a complete set of his medical reports, but are yet to receive it.

THE MHA SAID: Chee only gave his consent for the authorities to release his medical report to his sister on Dec 14. The medical report is currently being prepared by a Raffles Medical Group medical officer and should be ready for collection in two weeks, subject to payment of a fee.

Lights in the cell

Chee SAID: The light in his cell had been kept on the "entire night and morning", which made sleep impossible. It affected his health and his ability to eat. This he claimed went on for the last nine nights of his imprisonment, after he had returned from the hospital. He added that complaints to the prison doctor and psychiatrist had fallen on deaf ears.

THE MHA SAID: Chee initially slept in a cell with cell-mates, where the lights were turned off at night. After he complained of sleeping problems, he was given the sleeping aid valium by the medical officer, and was observed to have slept well. On his return from hospital, the MHA said that Chee had been kept in a cell equipped with CCTV, where the lights are kept on from 6pm to 8am to enable prison officers to monitor inmates under close supervision, such as those with suicidal tendencies or intent to injure themselves. It said that prison officers observed that Chee's cellmates slept without trouble. At his request, Chee was also given valium and was observed on CCTV to have rested at least six to seven hours each night.

His books

Chee SAID: In his statement, he asked why his books had been taken away when he returned from hospital. He said that when he asked for them, he was told that they had been taken away for censoring. He pointed out to officials that they were the same books he had brought into prison, and said he received no explanation on why censoring was required.

THE MHA SAID: Chee had brought a total of 32 books with him to prison, far more than any other prisoner. These 32 books were permitted. When he was sent to the hospital, Chee took with him seven books. On his return, the MHA said that the seven books were required to be subjected to security screening — standard procedure for all items brought in from the outside.

In their own words ...

Chee SAID:

If I am treated no differently from other inmates, why was my food tray marked when others' were not?

Also, why did the prison refuse to turn off the lights in my cell when the lights in other cells were switched off at 9pm every night? Let me add that I do not believe for a moment that the prison officials acted on their own initiative. Like everything else regarding the Opposition, decisions are made at the People's Action Party Government level and, in this instance, it should not try to pass the blame on to the Prison Service.

THE MHA SAID:

Chee's incarceration is a result of his own doing and political motivation — he broke the law and was convicted with due process but chose to go to jail instead of paying the fine. Chee's insinuations about being the victim of some food conspiracy by the authorities are ridiculous and a product of his own mischief.

The facts about Chee's conduct and actions in prison show that no one has made him nauseous; the medical tests done in the hospital showed that he was fit to return to prison. Instead, what is clear is that Chee's purported "ailment" in prison served only to provide an expedient story for his associates and foreign supporters to faithfully distort and exploit for political mileage. In the end, this was what really happened with Chee in prison.

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