The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had already made their warning loud and clear — shut up about the ongoing Thaipusam case or face serious action. Any comment posted online may be considered in contempt of court.
Now, sensationalist socio-political website The Real Singapore (TRS) are in deep shit for claiming that a Filipino family was the reason why the brawl between the police and the Thaipusam revellers started in the first place.
Under the Sedition Act, a 26-year-old Singaporean and his 22-year-old Japanese-Australian girlfriend have been arrested for posting insensitive remarks online that could promote ill will and hostility among the different races, according to various media reports.
The police were alerted to the seditious article published on TRS on Feb 5, and the duo who run the website were promptly arrested the next day.
The article in subject claimed that the Thaipusam altercation started when a Pinoy family complained to the police about the urumi drums, which were causing their child to cry. Following the complaint, the police cracked down on the urumi drummers and that lead to the physical brawl.
The reality was that no Filipino family were involved, and the remarks have been regarded as fanning the flames of xenophobia.
Investigators then sought out the people running TRS and quickly established their identities. Ai Takagi, an Australian national, is a law student at University of Queensland and is believed to be the main contributor to the website. Robin Yang is an environmental science student at the same university and reportedly handles the site’s financial accounts — believed to be earning a lot of money from Google ads. Both have been staying in Yang’s family home in Sembawang during their study break.
A third person is said to be involved in TRS — a student in the same university by the name of Melanie Tan, also in her 20s. She has not been arrested and remains in Australia.
Under the Sedition Act, anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore could be jailed for up to three years and/or a fine of up to $5000.
Photo: The Real Singapore screengrab
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