Singapore: Jolovan Wham convicted for “organising an illegal assembly”

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the conviction of Mr. Jolovan Wham, social worker, human rights advocate, and former Executive Director of the NGO Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) [1].

According to the information received, on January 3, 2019, the Singapore Court found Mr. Jolovan Wham guilty of “organising an illegal assembly without a police permit” under Article 16(1)(a) of the Public Order Act) in November 2016. The charge stems from Mr. Jolovan Wham’s involvement in the organization of a public discussion held at an indoor event in Singapore on November 26, 2016. The event saw the participation via Skype of Mr. Joshua Wong, a human rights defender from Hong Kong, who spoke about civil disobedience and social movements. The Court also convicted Mr. Jolovan Wham for refusing to sign a police statement. The Court scheduled the hearing for his sentencing for January 23, 2019.

Under Article 16(1)(a) of the Public Order Act, organising a public assembly without obtaining police permit is an offense that is punishable with a fine of up to SGD 5,000 (approx. 3,140 Euros). Repeat offenders can be fined up to SGD 10,000 (approx. 6,280 Euros) or imprisoned for up to six months, or both. For refusing to sign the police statement, Mr. Jolovan Wham can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to SGD 2,500 (approx. 1,570 Euros), or both.

Mr. Jolovan Wham faces two additional charges of organising a public assembly without a police permit and two more charges of not signing the police statements (see background information).

The Observatory condemns the conviction and the ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Jolovan Wham, which seem to be only aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human rights activities and for the exercise of his right to freedom of opinion and expression. The Observatory calls on the authorities of Singapore to put an immediate end to the judicial harassment of Mr. Jolovan Wham.

The Observatory recalls that this is not the first act of judicial harassment against Mr. Jolovan Wham. On October 9, 2018, Mr. Wham was found guilty of “scandalising the court” (Article 3 (1)(a) of the 2016 Administration of Justice (Protection) Act) for a Facebook post in which he alleged that Malaysia’s judges were more independent than Singapore’s regarding cases with political implications [2].

Background information:

In November 2016, the police started investigations against Mr. Jolovan Whan for organising a public discussion entitled “Civil Disobedience and Social Movements” at an indoor event space in Singapore on November 26, 2016.

On December 20, 2016, Mr. Wham recorded his statement at a police station. After learning that he would not be given a copy, he refused to sign it.

On November 28, 2017, Mr. Jolovan Wham was detained at the Central Police Station in Singapore in connection with the November 26, 2016 event. He was released on bail later that day.

On November 29, 2017, the State Court charged Mr. Jolovan Wham with: 1) “organising public assemblies without a permit”, under the Public Order Act (three charges); 2) “vandalism”, under the Vandalism Act (one charge); and 3) “refusing to sign statements”, under Article 180 of the Criminal Code (three charges). The seven charges were related to three peaceful gatherings held by various activists, including Mr. Jolovan Wham, in Singapore between November 2016 and July 2017 without obtaining prior permission from the police. One of those three gatherings was the event held on November 26, 2016.