Chun Han Wong
Dow Jones Newswires
Singapore government lawyers Tuesday asked for a minimum of 12 weeks’ jail for a U.K. author convicted of contempt of court over statements in his book on the city-state’s death penalty.
Deputy Senior State Counsel Hema Subramaniam said in court that Malaysia-based journalist Alan Shadrake, 76, had showed “deliberate intent to damage” the integrity of the Singapore judiciary, and a jail sentence was necessary to “send a signal that such egregious conduct will not be tolerated by our courts.”
Shadrake’s lawyer M. Ravi argued in court that a censure would be sufficient, adding that his client wouldn’t disavow his book but was willing to “say sorry if the sensitivities of the judiciary had been offended.”
High Court Judge Quentin Loh said he would reserve judgment, and would likely issue a sentence Nov. 16.