High Court Overrules Acquittal of Singapore Activists
April 9, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell

The Singapore High Court ordered the sentencing of five Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leaders and supporters charged with unlawful assembly, overturning a district court’s decision to acquit the protestors.

Channel News Asia reports that the SDP members were charged for a “walk” in 2007 commemorating the World Bank – International Monetary Fund meeting protests of 2006.  The group wore matching shirts printed with pro-democracy slogans and passed out pamphlets.

The district court judge hearing the case, John Ng, ruled that the group’s actions did not amount to an unlawful procession because they walked “casually, often singly, on pedestrian sidewalks, and stopped for toilet breaks and to distribute pamphlets” and did not cause any public disruption.

Following a government appeal, however, the High Court reversed the acquittal.  “Evidence on record shows that the respondents had a political purpose for what they called a ‘walk,’” said High Court Judge Choo Han Teck, noting that the five knew that a permit was required for what they were doing.

The acquittal had been a “rare victory for democracy advocates who had in the past been jailed or fined for flouting the city-state’s strict laws on public assembly,” according to Democracy Digest.

Sources:

Democracy Digest – Setbacks for Singapore Democrats

Channel NewsAsia – High Court Overturns Acquittal of SDP Five for Holding Procession without Permit

www.ccd21.org