SINGAPORE: Blogger arrested for racist post

Singapore law penalizes anyone who "deliberately wounds the religious or racial feelings of another" with up to three years of jail and a fine

The Straits Times
Thursday, May 22, 2008

By Sujin Thomas

A blogger has been arrested for posting a racist rant on his website that has stoked an online firestorm.

The 24-year-old was taken into custody on Tuesday evening at his Paya Lebar Way home, said police.

They accused him of making posts which 'may wound the racial feelings of another person'.

A computer, believed to have been used to make the post, was also seized for investigations.

The case came to light following two police reports made on Monday complaining of a virulent online message. It described a man whom the author saw sitting on the floor of an MRT train.

The post, which was made on March 18, described the man as 'smelling like he didnt showered in years' and said he was wearing 'some really scary dirty clothes'.

It went on to make racial remarks about the man, and even challenged anyone of that race to refute what he had written.

The post was featured on the blog Tomorrow.sg, which combines comments from several personal websites. It was linked to a number of blogs and popular online forums where it has caused a furore among netizens.

One forum user said on The Straits Times online discussion board yesterday: 'Freedom of speech comes with much responsibility.'

Lawyer Shashi Nathan stressed that bloggers need to be wary about the fallout from their posts.

He said: 'Netizens need to strike a fine balance between freedom of speech and racial responsibility. It affects the country as a whole.'

On his blog called "Sexy Fragrance Prince," the blogger has posted an apology.

He said: 'I would like to express my sincere apologies for any misinterpretation to my blog entry. I should have been more mindful.'

This is not the first time a blogger has got into hot water over a post.

In 2005, two people were convicted of posting racist remarks on their personal websites. One was jailed for a month and the other was jailed for one day and fined $5,000.

Anyone who deliberately wounds the religious or racial feelings of another may be jailed for up to three years and fined.

Date Posted: 5/22/2008