Police sued by anti-death penalty activist for overreach

An anti-death penalty activist has filed an application in court seeking a declaration that the police abused its powers in investigating him for participating in an “illegal procession.”

Mr Rocky Howe, along with independent journalist Kirsten Han, was questioned by the police on June 24, who said that the pair had participated in two ‘illegal assemblies’ outside Changi Prison earlier this year.

One instance was when they, together with a few others, sat outside the prison on March 29, the night before Abdul Kahar bin Othman was executed.

The other was when they took pictures with a sign that said “END OPPRESSION, NOT LIFE” on April 25, two nights before Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was hanged.

Both Mr Howe and Ms Han were wearing different shirts with anti-death penalty slogans when the police questioned them.

Ms Han wrote in a Facebook post that “the police claim that we have committed another offence of ‘illegal procession’ because we walked from the market across the street to the police station this morning.”

During the course of the interrogation, the police confiscated their t-shirts. And in addition to taking their mobile phones, the police also asked Ms Han for the passwords to her social media accounts, which she declined to give.

“I have been smeared, harassed, investigated, and on Friday the police took the shirt off my back,” wrote Ms Han in a tweet a few days after the incident.

A friend who had accompanied the two was forced to buy shirts from a nearby market, so they would have something to wear.

“Police overreach and harassment of activists and critics of the government are longstanding issues in Singapore, and have intensified in recent years, with the expansion of police powers to search and seize, and a growing arsenal of legislation like POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act) and FICA (Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act) that can be used to police and punish almost any activity or association the government deems a threat,” wrote the Transformative Justice Collective, to which Mr Howe and Ms Han belong, in a statement, which can be found in full here.

The TCJ called the court application of Mr Howe a “necessary act of resistance” which are rare in the country.

“In taking out this application, Rocky stands in solidarity with the thousands of ordinary people who, under the PAP government, have been intimidated by law enforcement, detained without trial, forced into exile, imprisoned, fined, sued, bankrupted, had their homes raided and their belongings seized, lost their jobs, and who have been publicly shamed and slandered for daring to dream of a more just, compassionate Singapore, and working towards building one,” TCJ wrote, adding that it also stands with Mr Howe.

“As long as we resist, they cannot bury our voices,” it added.

On 24 June 2022 (Friday), TJC members Rocky Howe and Kirsten Han were questioned by the police concerning alleged 'illegal assemblies' outside Changi Prison in March.

Read a message from them, echoed by all of us who love, care for and organise with them for a freer Singapore: pic.twitter.com/toSGVeiaJI

— Transformative Justice Collective (@tjc_singapore) June 28, 2022

/TISG

‘Illegal procession?’ — Lee Hsien Yang asks after police confiscate t-shirts with anti-death penalty slogans worn by 2 activists