The bloody suppression of the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in China is well documented, but Singapore’s suppression is lesser known.
Several times over the last nine years Singapore has singled out peaceful practitioners of Falun Gong and arrested them under laws used to stifle free speech.
On Tuesday, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chua Eng Chwee, 71 years old, was fined SS$6,000 (US$4,654) and sentenced to six weeks in jail by a subordinate court after having earlier been found guilty of four charges of vandalism and a violation of Singapore’s new Public Order Law (POL).
Mr. Chua was arrested for displaying several placards on the Esplanade in Singapore and for failing to immediately leave the Esplanade when the police instructed him to do so.
According to the prosecution’s own witnesses, the display of the placards did not do any damage to property. At the time Mr. Chua was arrested under the POL, the new law was three days old; Mr. Chua had no knowledge of it.
Terri Marsh, executive director of the Washington-based Human Rights Law Foundation, says “the law is clearly unjust, and it is being used or applied capriciously, in a way that strips away basic human rights and freedoms.”
He was abruptly jailed after declining to pay a $15,000 bail bond imposed by the court at a sentencing hearing after the judge learned that an appeal had been filed.
It is unknown when the appeal, filed Nov. 19, will be heard, or when Mr. Chua will be released.
Falun Gong, a practice of self improvement centered on a teaching of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, has been banned in China since 1999, and since then the regime’s policy has been to “eradicate” it.
An Amnesty International 2010 Report on China stated, “The government campaign against Falun Gong intensified, with sweeping detentions, unfair trials leading to long sentences, enforced disappearances, and deaths in detention following torture and ill-treatment.”
Falun Gong practitioners involved in Mr. Chua’s case say their government is trying to please the Chinese regime by punishing Falun Gong practitioners for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
In a statement offered during his trial earlier this month, Mr. Chua reminded the court that “it should not be used as a tool to support political influence or gain.”
Authorities are able to use a POL to silence the display of any “cause-related” messages they choose. An offending person may be given a move-on order at any time to vacate an area for 24-hours. Human Rights Watch has called the law draconian in its 2010 World Report.
The POL was put into effect just prior to the APEC Summit held in Singapore in October of last year.
Mr. Chua was one of the first in the country to be charged under the new law, according to Mr. Chua’s lawyer, Chia Ti Lik. Falun Gong practitioners are the most targeted group under the law, he said.
Mr. Chua had been going to the Esplanade underpass, a walkway frequented by tourists passing by on their way to nearby cultural and civic buildings, for 10 years.
When he goes he meditates and displays signs that highlight the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Mr. Chua was not doing anything different from usual on Oct. 14 when he was arrested under the POL.
What was different that day was that China’s leader Hu Jintao and a large Chinese delegation were in the city for the APEC Summit.
Another Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Ng Chay Huay, was arrested at the same time on charges of harassment for peacefully displaying a banner stating, “Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong” in front of the Chinese Embassy.
Five other Falun Gong practitioners were charged with vandalism related to the peaceful exercise of free speech at around the same time.
“Based on past incidents, it might be that certain people within the establishment in Singapore seem to be wanting to please the Communist Party with regards to prosecuting against Falun Gong,” Mr. Chia said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
Several times over the last nine years Singapore has singled out peaceful practitioners of Falun Gong and arrested them under laws used to stifle free speech.
On Tuesday, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chua Eng Chwee, 71 years old, was fined SS$6,000 (US$4,654) and sentenced to six weeks in jail by a subordinate court after having earlier been found guilty of four charges of vandalism and a violation of Singapore’s new Public Order Law (POL).
Mr. Chua was arrested for displaying several placards on the Esplanade in Singapore and for failing to immediately leave the Esplanade when the police instructed him to do so.
According to the prosecution’s own witnesses, the display of the placards did not do any damage to property. At the time Mr. Chua was arrested under the POL, the new law was three days old; Mr. Chua had no knowledge of it.
Terri Marsh, executive director of the Washington-based Human Rights Law Foundation, says “the law is clearly unjust, and it is being used or applied capriciously, in a way that strips away basic human rights and freedoms.”
He was abruptly jailed after declining to pay a $15,000 bail bond imposed by the court at a sentencing hearing after the judge learned that an appeal had been filed.
It is unknown when the appeal, filed Nov. 19, will be heard, or when Mr. Chua will be released.
Falun Gong, a practice of self improvement centered on a teaching of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, has been banned in China since 1999, and since then the regime’s policy has been to “eradicate” it.
An Amnesty International 2010 Report on China stated, “The government campaign against Falun Gong intensified, with sweeping detentions, unfair trials leading to long sentences, enforced disappearances, and deaths in detention following torture and ill-treatment.”
Falun Gong practitioners involved in Mr. Chua’s case say their government is trying to please the Chinese regime by punishing Falun Gong practitioners for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
In a statement offered during his trial earlier this month, Mr. Chua reminded the court that “it should not be used as a tool to support political influence or gain.”
Authorities are able to use a POL to silence the display of any “cause-related” messages they choose. An offending person may be given a move-on order at any time to vacate an area for 24-hours. Human Rights Watch has called the law draconian in its 2010 World Report.
The POL was put into effect just prior to the APEC Summit held in Singapore in October of last year.
Mr. Chua was one of the first in the country to be charged under the new law, according to Mr. Chua’s lawyer, Chia Ti Lik. Falun Gong practitioners are the most targeted group under the law, he said.
Mr. Chua had been going to the Esplanade underpass, a walkway frequented by tourists passing by on their way to nearby cultural and civic buildings, for 10 years.
When he goes he meditates and displays signs that highlight the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Mr. Chua was not doing anything different from usual on Oct. 14 when he was arrested under the POL.
What was different that day was that China’s leader Hu Jintao and a large Chinese delegation were in the city for the APEC Summit.
Another Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Ng Chay Huay, was arrested at the same time on charges of harassment for peacefully displaying a banner stating, “Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong” in front of the Chinese Embassy.
Five other Falun Gong practitioners were charged with vandalism related to the peaceful exercise of free speech at around the same time.
“Based on past incidents, it might be that certain people within the establishment in Singapore seem to be wanting to please the Communist Party with regards to prosecuting against Falun Gong,” Mr. Chia said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
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