Singapore charges 3 for sending letters to PM on Palestine

Three Singaporeans are facing charges of disturbing public order for being part of a group that delivered letters to then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong urging him to sever ties with Israel.

On Feb 2, as part of the National Day of Solidarity with Palestine, 70 people walked to the Prime Minister's Office and handed Lee 140 letters.

The charges fall under the Public Order Act for organising a "procession publicising the cause of solidarity with Palestine".

Vocal rights group Transformative Justice Collective condemned the charges and said the government was responding"vindictively with criminal sanction" to peaceful demands for Singapore show moral courage against the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

"Such sanctions levelled against the three are also a continuation of the intimidation of peaceful support for Palestinian lives in Singapore," the group said.

"We call for the charges to be withdrawn and for an end to all other investigations into,and intimidation of, peaceful action for Palestine."

Protests are a rarity in Singapore, with the authorities seeing red at any public display of dissent.

Singapore is one of the few countries with close military and diplomatic relations with Israel.

The island nation, which is sandwiched between giant Muslim neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia, both of whose populations are strongly opposed to Israel, is also said to be modelled on Israel's security and defence system, including mandatory military training for its citizens.

The Singapore government has criticised Israel's bombardment of Gaza, but has also said that Israel has a "right to self-defence".

In April, a group of Singaporeans protested to call on the government to stop the arms trade with Israel.

Between 2018 and 2022, Singapore imported arms worth a total of US$ 73 million from Israel, it said.

Singapore is also the tenth largest customer of the Israeli defence industry.

"We’ve bought missiles, drones, tanks, and other electronic devices installed on our fighter jets and warships from Israeli weapons manufacturers like IAI and Elbit," a spokesman for the group had told MalaysiaNow.

"Our government has chosen to invest in research and development alongside Israeli entities, and Singapore has engaged in joint ventures to develop and market weapons like anti-cruise missiles — some of which, like Matador, have been used by the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza."