Singapore: Jolovan Wham convicted for “scandalising the court”

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the judicial harassment and 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 October 9, 2018, the Singapore High Court found Mr. Jolovan Wham guilty of violating Article 3 (1) (a) of the 2016 Administration of Justice (Protection) Act (“scandalising the court”). Mr. Jolovan Wham’s prosecution and conviction stemmed from one of his Facebook posts published on April 27, 2018, in which he shared a news story about a constitutional challenge against Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Act and commented that Malaysian judges were “more independent than Singapore’s for cases with political implication”. The Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) reasoned that the post “did not constitute fair criticism of the court” and that it “posed a risk that public confidence in the administration of justice would be undermined”. Mr. Jolovan Wham’s sentencing hearing has been set for November 7, 2018. He faces up to three years in jail or a fine of S$100,000 (around 62,740 Euros), or both.

This is the first conviction for “scandalising the court” under the 2016 Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, which came into effect on October 1, 2017. This crime is defined as “Any person who scandalises the court by intentionally publishing any matter or doing any act that —(i) imputes improper motives to or impugns the integrity, propriety or impartiality of any court; and (ii) poses a risk that public confidence in the administration of justice would be undermined”.

The Observatory condemns the conviction and the 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 against Mr. Jolovan Wham.

The Observatory recalls that this is not the first act of judicial harassment against Mr. Jolovan Wham On November 29, 2017, the State Court charged Mr. Jolovan Wham with “organising public assemblies without a permit” (under the Public Order Act), “vandalism” (under then Vandalism Act) and “refusing to sign statement” (under Article 180 of the Criminal Code). These charges were related to three peaceful gatherings held between November 2016 and July 2017 [2]. The prosecution of Mr. Jolovan Wham in connection with this case is ongoing.