"After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, in consultation with attorney-general's chamber, we have decided to issue a stern warning to the offender in lieu of prosecution," police said Thursday, Jul 20.

They said the unidentified blogger "was warned accordingly" earlier this month.

The blogger could have been jailed for up to three years or fined S$5000 (US$3150) or both if convicted under the Sedition Act.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom group had criticized police for investigating the blogger, saying the case showed Singapore had scant regard for media independence.

The Straits Times has reported that the 21-year-old blogger, who described himself as a free-thinking office worker, first posted a cartoon in January depicting Jesus Christ as a zombie biting a boy's head.

He ignored an online message asking for the cartoon's removal and went on to post more caricatures of Christ to spite the sender.

Singapore, a multi-racial island nation, clamps down hard on anyone inciting communal tensions. Two ethnic Chinese men were jailed last year for anti-Muslim blogs.

Ethnic Chinese make up 77 percent of Singapore's resident population of 3.5 million but there are significant populations of Malay Muslims, ethnic Indians and other racial groups.

In April, RSF condemned Singapore's restrictions on political discussions in blogs and websites ahead of general elections held in May.

Last year the group ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its annual press freedom index, alongside countries including Egypt and Syria.

A Singapore newspaper early in July suspended an Internet blogger's column after the government criticised a satirical article he wrote about high living costs.

In a forum with foreign correspondents in April, Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew defended the country's record, saying authorities would not allow foreign journalists "or anybody else to tell us what to do."

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