Subject: Uniquely Singapore - jailed for writing a book
A 76-year-old British writer who published a book denouncing judicial
hangings in Singapore started a prison term today for contempt.
Alan Shadrake, who wrote about the use of hanging to execute drug
traffickers and murderers in the city-state, turned himself in at the High
Court.
On Friday he lost his appeal against a six-week sentence, the toughest
ever imposed in Singapore for contempt.
Shadrake could not afford to pay a Sg$20,000 ($15,175) fine on top of
the prison term, resulting in another two weeks in jail, taking the term to
eight weeks in total. He could be released earlier for good behaviour.
He was allowed to undergo a medical test before serving his sentence.
"I feel fine. I feel that Singapore has shamed itself again by jailing
me," Shadrake said by phone.
"For Singapore not to allow this free expression, to jail someone for
their opinions... it's bloody nonsense," added the author of Once A Jolly
Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock.
His book includes a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief
executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison who, according to the author,
hanged around 1,000 men and women including foreigners from 1959 until he
retired in 2006.
Shadrake's book features interviews with human rights activists,
lawyers and former police officers, and alleges that some cases involving
foreigners may have been influenced by diplomatic and trade considerations.
He was arrested by Singapore police in July last year while visiting
the city to launch the first edition of his book, which was first published
in neighbouring Malaysia.
Shadrake said previously that the second edition of his book was
already on sale in Australia and was due to be launched in Britain on June
1.
No comments:
Post a Comment