SINGAPORE: Support for racist blogger's 'Malay immersion'

Judge receives support for ordering youth to serve community in targeted in his blog

Straits Times
Saturday, December 3, 2005

By Tracy Sua

A judge's decision to force a racist blogger to serve his community service among the very group he had insulted has received broad support.

This week, District Judge Bala Reddy handed 17-year-old Gan Huai Shi a two-year probation sentence for posting racist remarks about Malays on his blog, or Internet journal.

He also ordered the youth to go for counselling at the Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association, get a psychological evaluation and perform 180 hours of community service at a Malay voluntary welfare organisation under a volunteer Malay probation officer.

Lawyers told The Straits Times they believe it is the first time such specific racial conditions have been attached to a probation order.

In fact, the idea was deemed so innovative that it sparked interest in how targeted probation orders can enhance rehabilitation.

Mr R. Ravindran, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, welcomed the move, praising the judge's boldness in dealing with the case.

"It will provide more of an educational opportunity. And more importantly, the judge did not send him to jail where he might mingle with bad hats and become worse," said Mr Ravindran.

Criminal lawyer Edmond Pereira, who represented Gan, said the teen and his family are happy with the judge's decision.

The officer who prepared Gan's report recommended probation only after detailed interviews with people who knew him. It was revealed in court during Gan's mitigation plea that an isolated but tragic event that led to his baby brother's death 10 years ago had led to Gan's dislike for Malays.

When Gan was seven years old, he and his mother had been trying to rush his one-month-old brother to hospital when a Malay couple refused to give up their taxi, despite the family's pleas. They waited a further 20 minutes to get another cab and the boy died upon arrival at the hospital.

Mr Kalidass K., assistant director for probation services operations at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, told The Straits Times that he collected information from about 10 sources, including Gan's family members, the schools he attended and his counsellor.

To maintain objectivity, Mr Kalidass consulted his colleagues as well as the chief probation officer.

"Gan will be treated like any offender, although there will be one or two things we need to do differently. As the nature of the offence is racial, we will have to address that in our programmes," he said.

Mr Kalidass, who is now Gan's probation officer, is still evaluating various voluntary welfare organisations and volunteer probation officers to find a suitable one for the youth.

But plans have already been made for Gan to be included in group programmes that will allow him to interact with different races.

"By focusing on strengths, positive strokes are given to them and they start to believe in themselves. That starts the rehabilitative process and their lifestyles will become more positive," said Mr Kalidass.

Gan is the third blogger convicted under the long-dormant Sedition Act in recent months for posting offensive comments about Malays on his Internet site.

In October, marketing executive Nicholas Lim, 25, was jailed for a day and animal shelter assistant Benjamin Koh, 27, was jailed for a month.

How probation works here

# A sentencing court judge normally requests for a pre-sentencing report, which will either recommend or oppose probation.

# If probation officers recommend probation, they will include an action plan which they feel will help reform the offender.

# After the judge orders the offender to be put on probation, a probation officer is assigned, sometimes assisted by a volunteer officer trained by the probation branch, who will befriend and counsel the probationer.

# The probation officer is from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). He organises reform programmes, enforces probation conditions and monitors the probationer's progress.

# The volunteers come from all walks of life, ranging from professional working adults to tertiary students. They are not necessarily attached to a voluntary welfare organisation.

# Both officers are usually in constant contact with the probationer.

# The probation plan is also not cast in stone and is reviewed every three months. If they find that the offender is not making progress, they may haul him back to court and recommend extending the probation, imposing additional conditions or even revoking the probation.

# Community service usually forms part of the conditions of a probation order in Singapore, but in some overseas jurisdictions, they are part of a community service order (CSO) which is separate from a probation order.

A CSO forms part of a penalty, whereas a probation order is aimed at reform.

# Other sanctions used by MCYS include diversionary activities like the Guidance and Streetwise programmes, which aim to help youth offenders or those in gangs, and the police warning which is given to offenders on the advice of the Attorney-General and enables an offender to avoid the court system.

# Weekend detention is also an option open to juveniles for certain offences, but the sanction is not meted out to adults as in some other countries like New Zealand, which has attendance centres for this purpose.

Date Posted: 12/3/2005