The attacker tried to overload the e-mail accounts of people participating in the Singapore Review newsgroup by hacking into the editor's account Monday and bombarding the group's 2100 subscribers with 10 junk e-mail messages a minute for 20 minutes, the newspaper said.

The Web site, which is part of Yahoo! newsgroups, continued to operate.

The report cited the Singapore Review's editor, who goes by the pseudonym Mellanie Hewlitt and is based outside this wealthy Southeast Asian city-state, which imposes tight controls on media, the Internet and political activities.

Police could not immediately say whether a complaint had been lodged over the incident, or whether they'd investigate.

The Singapore Review's moderators couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Attacking Internet sites or newsgroups, a crime in Singapore, is punishable by up to three years in jail and a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$5800), said police spokeswoman Karen Chen.

Hacking is very serious and shouldn't be viewed as heroic acts or mere playful pranks,' Chen said.

The Internet is the main vehicle for dissident viewpoints in Singapore, but it's still constrained.

Ahead of the latest elections in 2001, Singapore passed strict new controls on political use of the Internet.

Critics say such controls stifle free speech and limit Singaporeans' ability to make informed choices.

The government argues that the laws curb false, malicious rumors that could damage reputations or even threaten national security.

"Attempting to control the Internet is like trying to control the incoming tide or the orbit of the planets" the Straits Times quoted Hewitt as saying.

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