Attacks on the Press in 2005 - Snapshots: Singapore
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2006 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2005 - Snapshots: Singapore, February 2006, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c5672a2.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A government agency threatened to file a defamation suit against blogger Jiahao Chen, prompting him to shut down his Web site on April 26 and post an apology. Officials frequently use civil libel suits in Singapore to silence dissent in the traditional media, but this was the first reported threat of legal action against a blogger.
Police began an investigation in May of independent documentary filmmaker Martyn See under the country's Films Act. The act bans "party political" films; violation of the ban carries a penalty of up to 100,000 Singapore dollars (about US$60,000) in fines or two years in jail. See was forced to withdraw "Singapore Rebel" – which chronicles the civil disobedience of an opposition activist – from the Singapore International Film Festival in March. Police later questioned See and confiscated his camera and existing copies of the film.
