On Friday (Aug 19), social activist Gilbert Goh was fined $3,200 for taking part in a public assembly without a permit and refusing to sign a police statement.
However, he opted to only pay S$2,000 fine for his public assembly charge, but not for his refusal to sign the police statement, therefore he was made to serve the default jail term of three days.
Goh, who only actually served one day in jail, said it was “a very good experience” while expressing gladness that his sentence was not a longer one.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, he wrote that he had been released “after serving two days of the three sentenced as Sunday is not a discharge day, so they released me earlier – Friday is considered one day served plus today.”
“It’s a good experience albeit a short one and for future activists who want to make a stand but afraid to take a longer jail sentence they can take my option of partial payment of fine imposed so they can only serve a shorter period,” he wrote.
He added that he was given “a thin mat, two super-thin blankets, tooth brush, tooth paste, two tiny soaps, a mug for your hot drinks, a toilet roll and two small face towels,” and was placed in a 2 by 2.5 meter cell.
It appears that the humidity and lack of ventilation were among the hardest parts of his jail stint.
“Six books were laid on the floor for you but you don’t have the mood to read any due to the physical condition,” Goh added.
He was all praises for the wardens, whom he described as “super friendly and they make things easier for everyone.”
On July 26, he was convicted of one count of an offence under the Public Order Act and another for refusing to sign a statement he had given to the police.
In a longer Instagram post on Sunday (Aug 21) he wrote about the five important lessons he learned from his “year-long court trial and 3-day jail sentence,” which are “stamina, perseverance, belief, meaning and sacrifice.” /TISG
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