For example, Mr Vijayan reported: "As he was being led away, SDP member Gandhi Ambalam, who shouted at the police and obstructed them in their duties, was also arrested." First of all, Mr Ambalam was not shouting "at the police" but appealing to the public in general: "We are peaceful and non-violent. The PAP government has unleashed the police force to handle the leader of the opposition party. We don't believe in violence 'The police are armed to the teeth, we are unarmed. We are defenceless. We are law abiding, we believe in the rule of law.' "

Secondly, Mr Ambalam had not obstructed the police in their duties. He was walking along with everyone else in the crowd. The SDP has recorded this on tape.

The real reason why the police arrested Mr Ambalam was because Dr Chee, as he was being pushed into the police van, had asked Mr Ambalam to continue with the rally. This the Straits Times omitted.

Mr Vijayan wrote that Mr Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff was "also arrested at the Tanglin police station for creating a scene there." Witnesses say he acted in no such manner. No Straits Times reporter was present during the entire incident! You have taken all the information from the police and reported them as fact.

Mr Vijayan also reported that SDP supporters outside Tanglin police station holding placards "bolted from the scene" when the police came out. This is not true. The individuals put down the placards when the police told them to and remained where they were standing.

Mr Vijayan then wrote: "After speaking to a small crowd for a few minutes, Tanglin Division's acting commander, Deputy Superintendent Lim Chin Tiak, approached him [Dr Chee] and advised him to leave peacefully as he did not have a permit." Dr Chee wasn't speaking to any crowd. He was surrounded by journalists and answering their questions.

The reporter went on to say that "Chee turned around to thank the officer for his advice, but carried on speaking to the crowd." Video-tape footage shows that Dr Chee was facing and talking to DSP Lim; he was asking for a chance to respond to the DSP. He had not "carried on speaking to the crowd."

The report continued: "DSP Lim then repeated his warning twice, but Chee continued to ignore him. As a result, the officer ordered his men to take him away." The order for arrest was made when Dr Chee was in mid-sentence talking to the DSP, not when "Chee continued to ignore him." All this is captured on video-tape.

In the interest of fair reporting and providing the public with accurate information, it is only decent that the Straits Times apologises for the inaccuracies by Mr K. C. Vijayan.

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