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SINGAPORE: Singapore is going to accuse an activist of organizing a one-man protest without permission over an incident in which he held up a crudely drawn smiley sign in front of a police station.
Police told Jolovan Wham, 40, who has had several clashes with the city-state authorities, which strictly controls the public assembly, the media and freedom of expression, on Thursday that he would be indicted in court on Monday.
The charge relates to a March incident in which Wham demonstrated his support for a young climate activist who said he had been questioned by police during a similar protest days earlier.
Wham posted a photo of himself holding the sign on his social media accounts.
The civil rights activist, who has already served two brief terms in jail this year, will be charged under the Public Order Act, which regulates assemblies and processions in public places, according to the charge sheet Wham posted on Twitter.
You face a fine of up to S $ 5,000.
Singapore police confirmed that Wham had been notified of the charges, but did not immediately comment further.
“These charges against me only show how absurd the situation has become,” Wham said in a text message, adding that he planned to plead not guilty.
“Calling what I did an assembly is an abuse of the English language. How can a man standing in public for a few seconds for a photo shoot be a threat to public order? “Wham said.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, an Amnesty International researcher on Southeast Asia, called the incident “yet another example of targeted action” to crack down on Wham’s “peaceful activism”.
