Statement in response to AGC Statement re Alex Au

Singapore, 10 December 2013

We refer to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) statement dated 5 December 2013 which was made in response to our statement issued 29 November 2013.

We assure the AGC that the 170 persons who “purportedly” signed the statement did in fact do so.

It is regrettable that the AGC’s statement appears to predetermine that Mr Alex Au’s blog post did indeed scandalise the judiciary. Respectfully, we would like to point out that the AGC is not immune to errors of judgement. This is evidenced by Justice Belinda Ang’s decision to deny its application to bring action against Mr Au for another blog post dated 12 October 2013.

It is also regrettable that the AGC’s statement repeated an earlier instance where a blog post of Mr Au’s (18 June 2012) was deemed to have scandalised the court. This is not relevant to the current case.

The AGC states that the “Constitutional right to free speech and expression is not an absolute right, but subject to limits which are expressly provided for in the Constitution.” Our statement of 29 November 2013 was intended to query the extent of those limits vis-a-vis the AG’s intention to sue Mr Au.

We note again that the offense of scandalising the judiciary has become obsolete in the country of its origin and was repealed by the United Kingdom Parliament this year.

We reiterate the observation that the AGC’s action is not in keeping with the spirit of Singapore’s position at the 2011 UN Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights.

The AGC assures us that “[t]he hearing to determine whether the article is in contempt of court will be open to the public.” With respect, the assertion misses the point. The AGC’s decision to take action against Mr Au is counterproductive. It suggests that open and healthy debate about the judiciary is not allowed.

We repeat our call for the action against Mr Au to be abandoned. Further, we urge Parliament to reconsider the offense of scandalising the judiciary. It diminishes rather than encourages confidence in our legal system.

See here for the statement issued 29 November 2013
See here for AGC response to statement issued on 29 November 2013