Opposition
politician files police report on torture charge
Associated Press. March 10, 1999.
AN opposition politician in Singapore has filed a police report
alleging mistreatment during a 12-day prison term for helping stage a speech
without police permission, his party said Wednesday.
Wong Hong Toy, 62, accuses the police of questioning him for 30 minutes last week in a room with two air conditioners running full blast, causing pain in his arm due to rheumatism.
The politician said he was afraid to ask that the air conditioners be turned down but later complained to the prison superintendent that it was torture.
The prisons department has denied that Wong was tortured, saying only one air conditioner was on, at normal temperature, and not at full power.
The 200-member Singapore Democratic Party, whose leaders are waging a civil disobedience campaign against a law restricting political speech, called for an official inquiry.
Wong was freed Saturday along with party leader Chee Soon Juan, 36, who made a Jan 5 speech to a peaceful crowd of about 600 in the central business district. Wong was convicted of violating the law by adjusting Chee's microphone and loudspeaker.
Both men refused to pay fines, arguing that the law barring speeches without police permission was unjust, and were sentenced to 12 days in prison. They were also banned from running for office for the next five years in the southeast Asian city-state.