Statement on AGC Action Against Alex Au

Statement by members of the general public on the Attorney General’s Chambers’ action against Mr Au for his blog posts.

Singapore, 29 November 2013

We are deeply concerned that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has been granted leave to take action against Singaporean blogger, Mr Alex Au, for “scandalising the judiciary” in his blog post, “377 Wheels Come Off Supreme Court’s Best Laid Plans”.¹

The right of free expression is enshrined in Article 14 of our Constitution.  We believe that robust public debate is necessary for national progress.  The AGC’s action, however, reflects an overzealous desire to police public opinion.  This cannot be healthy for a mature, first world nation.  If Mr Au had erred, then his claims should be rebutted in public. This would enable Singaporeans to make up their own minds.

We agree that it is important to uphold public confidence in the judiciary.  However, this cannot mean that our judges should not be subject to scrutiny.  The AGC’s action, rather than enhancing confidence in the judiciary, might weaken public confidence.  It also implies that the public is not allowed to form opinions on judicial processes.

International legal opinion supports the advancement of the law in respect of public comment. In 2012, the UK Law Commission recommended abolishing the offence of “scandalising the judiciary” because it is “an infringement of freedom of expression and out of step with social attitudes”.  The Commission noted that the offence,

“belongs to an era when deferential respect to the judiciary was the norm.  But social attitudes have changed.  Enforcing the offence today would do little to reinforce respect for the judiciary and, if judges are thought to be using it to protect their own, could strengthen any existing distrust or disrespect.”²

We note that the AGC action against Mr Au is not in keeping with the spirit of Singapore’s position at the 2011 UN Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights that “Political postings on the Internet are prevalent, including many that are highly critical of the Government.  No blogger or other online publisher has been prosecuted for such postings.”³ Further, this AGC action contradicts Singapore’s obligations in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, adopted on 18 November 2012. Article 23 states, “Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information, whether orally, in writing or through any other medium of that person’s choice.”⁴

We call upon the AGC to help the Government of Singapore uphold its ideals and its international commitments, for the continued progress and prosperity of our nation.

 

Signed by
Simeon Ang	Kevin Lee	Onh Solly
K Z Arifa	Lynn Lee	Dickson Su
Jacqui Ch	Richard Lee	Osman Suleiman
Sharmeen Nina Chabra	Lee Shiuh Meng Kevin	Prof Paul Ananth Tambyah
Xin Hui Supanee Chan	Philip Selwyn Lemos	Alvin Tan
Qizhong Chang	Tricia Leong	Alvin Tan Cheong Kheng
Kenneth Chee Mun Leon	Leow Zi Xiang	Bian Tan
Jeremy Chen	Dr Liew Kai Khiun	Caryn Tan Sun
Chew Kheng Chuan	Angie Lim	Eugene Tan Siah Yew
Leslie Chew	Gary Lim Meng Suang	Joe Tan
Tania Chew	Lim Jialiang	Joel Bertrand Tan
Joshua Chiang	Lim Kay Siu	Jolene Tan
Brendan Chong	Lynette Lim	John L Tan
Bryan Choong	Michelle Lim	Tan Joo Hymn
Jean Chong	Nicholas Lim Yew	Kenneth Tan
Chong Kai Xiong	Andrew Loh	Kirsten Tan
Chong Wai Fung	Loh Chee Leong	Netina Tan
Chua Chuen-Seah	Dr Loh Kah Seng	Dr Roy Tan
Lucy Davis	Andee Loo	Serena Tan
Fazlur Yusuf	Braema Mathi	Sylvia Tan
Fong Hoe Fang	Marayd McElroy	Estee Tay
Assoc Professor Cherian George	Haron Mong	Jennifer Teo
Jessica Goh	Neo Swee Lim	Teo Soh Lung
Johannes Hadi	Ng Mei Fay	Professor Tey Tsun Hang
Han Hui Hui	Ng Yisheng	Callan Tham
Kirsten Han	Roy Ngerng	Thaw Win
Helmi Yusuf	Dr Noor Rahman	Melissa Tsang
Ivan Heng	Brian Nugawela	Kelly Then
Dr Russell Heng	Irene Oh	Shelley Thio
Adrian Heok	Kay Omar	Ivan Thomasz
Irene Ho	Ong En Hui	Dr Pingtjin Thum
Sam Ho	Yanchun Ong	Jeremy Tiang
Vanessa Ho	Stephan Ortmann	Dawn Toh
Isrizal Mohamed Isa	Pak Geok Choo	Toh Boon Hwee
Kenneth Jeyaretnam	Vivian Pan	Jason Wee
Kwan Jin	Engsien Pek	Lawrence Wee
Shawn Kathiravan	Ravi Philemon	Jolovan Wham
Dr Khoo Hoon Eng	Francisco Raquiza	Dr Vincent Wijeysingha
Koh Boon Luang	Indulekshmi Rajeswari	Andy Wong
Dan Koh	Gene Sha Rudyn	Brenton Wong
Patrick Koh	Alfian Sa’at	Wong Chee Meng
Joses Kuan	Mansura Sajahan	Dexter Wong
Annie Kwan	Nora Samosir	Joe Wong
Ken Kwek	Katerina Sandiman	Melissa W S Wong
Dana Lam	Seet Cheng Yew Michael	Wong Tong Kwong
Vincent Law	Ariffin Sha	Teresa Woo
David Lee	Rev Miak Siew	Dr Woon Tien Wei
Lee Gwo Yinn	Siew Kum Hong	Terry Xu
Howard Lee	Frederique Soh	Benjamin Xue
Dezmond Yeo	Antoinette Yzelman	Julius Yang
Yeo Yeu Yong	Rachel Zeng	Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao
Zeng Ziting	Zulkarnain Hassan	Gerald Heng
Stephen Koh	Foo Hui Shien, Catherine	Ronald Koh
Shawn Tan	Dr Charan Bal	Jeffrey George
Low Yit Leng	Jocelyn Teo	Chia Vincent
Lisa Li	Kok Heng Leun	Damien Chng
Priscilla Chia

Reference links

[1]http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/377-wheels-come-off-supreme-courts-best-laid-plans/. [2]http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/news/2140.htm. The full report is available at http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/docs/lc335_scandalising_the_court.pdf. The offence has since been abolished in the UK. [3]http://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/dam/mfa/images/media_center/special_events/upr/UPR%20National%20Report_Singapore.pdf. [4]http://www.asean.org/news/asean-statement-communiques/item/asean-human-rights-declaration.

On 25th November 2013, The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has filed for an application to bring a contempt of court action against Mr Au over two posts published on his blog Yawning Bread last month.

The two posts are titled “377 Wheels Come Off Supreme Court’s Best-Laid Plans” and  “Church Sacks Employee And Sues Government – On One Ground Right, On Another Ground Wrong”.

However Justice Belinda Ang ruled on Wednesday, 27th November 2013 that the AGC can only proceed with contempt of court action on one of his blog posts titled “377 Wheels Come Off Supreme Court’s Best-Laid Plans” that was published on October 5.