Civil rights activist Jolovan Wham released early on “good behaviour” after serving part of jail term for charges under Public Order Act, among other laws

Civil rights activist and social worker Jolovan Wham on Friday (5 Mar) was released early from jail on “good behaviour” after serving part of his term for charges under the Public Order Act (POA), the Vandalism Act and the Penal Code.

Mr Wham, 41, had previously pleaded guilty to three charges concerning the following:

1. Section 16(1)(a) of Public Order Act (POA) for organising a public assembly to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Operation Spectrum without a permit, which took place on 3 June 2017 from about 5 pm to 7 pm on a train along the North-South Line;
2. Section 3 of the Vandalism Act for affixing two A4-sized sheets of paper on a panel in a train, with the sheets containing the messages ‘MARXIST CONSPIRACY? #notodetentionwithouttrial’ and ‘JUSTICE FOR OPERATION SPECTRUM SURVIVORS #notodetentionwithouttrial’. This occurred on 3 June 2017 from about 5 pm to 7 pm; and
3. Section 180 of the Penal Code for refusing to sign the statement made by him to the Police in regards to the incident on 3 June 2017. This happened on 19 June 2017.

Two other charges were taken into consideration in the court’s sentencing, namely:

1. Section 16(1)(a) of the POA, for organising without a permit a public assembly to commemorate the impending judicial execution of Prabagaran a/l Srivijayan on 13 July 2017; and
2. Section 180 of the Penal Code for refusing to sign his own statement on 13 September 2017.

He was originally sentenced by the State Courts to 32 days of imprisonment on 15 Feb, which he chose to serve in default of an S$8,000 fine.

“Been settling in and am slowly catching up on news and messages. If I haven’t replied to you yet, I will soon. Thanks for your support and concern,” said Mr Wham in a Facebook post today.