Chee and colleague jailed, barred from election

Opposition politician Chee Soon Juan chose the prison sentence over a Singapore $2500 (US$1,470) fine, which disqualifies Chee, the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), from standing for parliament for five years.

In his final argument, Chee told the court: "I am not on trial for a crime. I am in a political struggle. I have just spent a week in prison for standing up for my rights.

"Prison is one place I do not want to have to step into again. It is demoralising and it brutalises one's spirit. But if I have to spend time in jail to show that I believe that what I'm doing is good for my country, then consider it done."

Chee again was charged under the Public Entertainments Act for delivering a speech in public without obtaining a licence.

He served a one-week sentence earlier this month for a similar offence. Under Singapore law, a fine of over S$2000 bars the offender from standing for election for five years.

His case has renewed a debate on free speech restrictions in Singapore.

In handing down the ruling, district judge Mavis Chionh said Chee was well aware his actions were illegal after being warned by a police officer and having already been charged with a similar offence earlier.

"He acted in deliberate and willful disregard of the law," she said.

A fellow SDP member, Wong Hong Toy, who was charged with assisting Chee, was also found guilty and handed a S$2400 fine or 12 days in jail in default. Wong also opted to go to jail.

Even though the prosecution did not press for a deterrent sentence and noted the second offence was committed before Chee was found guilty of the first, Chionh said a negligible increase in the sentence was not appropriate as both the accused had willfully disregarded the law.

Chee said he did not apply for a licence to speak because he knew one would not be given to him.

"It is without any sense of decency and respectability for the prosecution to sit there and charge me for not applying for a permit when it knows full well that one will not be given."

Chee, whose SDP has no seats in parliament, says democracy and free speech are stifled by the public speaking permit system he challenged.

The government says the permit law is a procedural matter necessary to maintain public order and does not substantively affect the right to free speech. It also says there are ample outlets for people in Singapore to express their views.

The South China Morning Post reported (Feb 25) both refused to pay their fines and last night began serving 12-day prison sentences in default.

For Chee, it was his second time behind bars in a month.

His second spell in prison means Chee could miss out on the birth of his first child, which is due later this week.

Chee's Taiwanese wife, Huang Chih-mei, said it would be difficult being alone during the birth, but his jail sentence was "not unexpected".

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bala Reddy ironically pleaded for leniency, arguing that Chee had committed his second offence before being convicted in court for the first and should be treated as a first-time offender.

Mr Reddy said he was taking this unusual step because Chee had elected not to use a defence lawyer to plead on his behalf and was not well versed in the law.

Wong did use a defence lawyer, but Mr Reddy pleaded he, too, should be fined less than the S$1500 fine he received in 1988 for abetting an earlier illegal public speech.

Wong's lawyer, Ling How Doong, expressed surprise at the level of the fines, but said both men had been were well aware of what they were doing.

Mr Ling claimed the Public Entertainments Act breached Article 14 of the constitution which guaranteed freedom of speech, but the judge said her court had no authority to rule on this matter.

Outside court, SDP vice-chairman Ghandi Ambalam said running for Parliament was not the only forum for fighting for democracy. "The party goes on," he said.

The SDP failed to win any seats in the last poll.