A 41-year-old man, Wham Kwok Han Jolovan (‘Wham’) was convicted on 15 February 2021 of an offence under the Public Order Act, for organising a public assembly without a permit. He was also convicted of one offence of vandalism, and one of refusing to sign his statement to the Police. All three charges were in relation to the illegal gathering Wham organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ‘Operation Spectrum’.
Two other offences of organising a public assembly without a permit and refusing to sign his statement to the Police, were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing. Wham had organised a gathering outside Changi Prison Complex to commemorate a then impending judicial execution, on 13 July 2017. Wham had created a Facebook event asking the public to participate in the “vigil” and even stated on the social media platform that a permit had not been sought.
He was sentenced to a global fine of $8,000 (in default 32 days’ imprisonment) by the Court.
The Police had initiated investigations following a report made on 4 June 2017 in relation to Facebook posts by Wham regarding a ‘protest’ held on an MRT train on 3 June 2017. Investigations revealed that Wham had handed out books titled “1987: Singapore’s Marxist Conspiracy 30 Years On” and blindfolds to at least five other persons. Six of them joined Wham in the protest on the MRT train, where they were photographed reading the books. Two other persons took the photographs and fielded questions from members of the public. The photographs were posted on social media by Wham with a caption stating that the group had gathered to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ‘Operation Spectrum’ on the MRT train.
In addition to his act of organising a public assembly without a permit, Wham had affixed two A4-sized sheets of paper on a panel in the MRT train, a public property, with the following messages: “MARXIST CONSPIRACY? #notodetentionwithouttrial” and “JUSTICE FOR OPERATION SPECTRUM SURVIVORS #notodetentionwithouttrial”. For this act, he was charged with vandalism under Section 3 of the Vandalism Act.
Under Section 2 of the Public Order Act, a gathering or meeting of persons for the purpose of commemorating an event is defined as an assembly. No permit had been granted to Wham to organise the assembly.
Wham has repeatedly shown blatant disregard and disdain for the law. Wham could have exercised his right to political expression legally by holding a protest at Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park or by publishing his views online. The Speakers' Corner is the proper avenue for Singaporeans to express their views and conduct public assemblies without the need for a permit, subject to certain conditions being met. Given how densely populated Singapore is, the approach to allow public protests at Speakers’ Corner, or elsewhere with a permit, allows the authorities to assess and manage public-order risks. The Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to illegal demonstrations and protests as these may lead to public order incidents. The regulation of public protests allows the Government to uphold public order to ensure a peaceful and stable society.
Vandalism of public property, however minor, should not be condoned. The Police will enforce the law against those who choose to commit an offence.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 February 2021 @ 7:00 PM