Friday, 13 March 2009
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[OFFICIAL]PoThePanda Statement On CID/ISD Lim Kopi Session 02/03/09
Dear Fellow Citizens Of Singapore,
This is a factual account of what happened to me on the 02/03/09.
Do remember the faces of our fathers,and do the right thing when the time comes.
After the posting of this article,it is likely i may be detained under the ISA.
Why do i do it even when i know this possibility?
I do it because we should not be held back by fear...
I do it because we should remember the faces of our fathers,and seek justice for all those Singaporeans who may have been falsely and unfairly treated over the years..
I do it because it is the RIGHT THING TO DO..
My fellow Singaporeans...
In the name of our National Pledge...
To Build A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Based on JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
STAND FOR A CHANGE!
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Statement Of The Events Of 02/03/09
I am Tan Yeong Hong,Singapore NRIC Sxxxx884E,staying at Blk 108 Hougang Ave 1 #xx-xxxx Singapore 530108.My Hp number is xxxx9021 and my email address is yangfengsg@hotmail.com. My online moniker for Stomp / Hardwarezone is PoThePanda08 / PoThePanda.My blog is at xanga/pothepanda.I am a regular online dissident and critic of Singapore’s PAP government.However,I do not belong to any political party.
Below is a statement of events that happened to me on the 2nd of March of the Year 2009,which led me to believe that there is systematic abuse of human rights in Singapore,and that many so-called terrorists in detention are not terrorists at all.At the same time,I would like to put on record the death threats that were made to me.Should I disappear after the publication of this Statement,I urge the Singaporeans & the International Community to stand for a change.
On the 02/03/2009,I was picked up from my house at about 11am by 4 persons who identified themselves as CID.They claimed they were investigating a post on Molotov Cocktails that I had posted on the forum Stomp.With regards to this particular allegation,I wish to state that I had posted an article on Molotov Cocktails on Stomp sometime late last year.The article was copied and pasted from Wikipedia,and was posted up for information value due to its appearance in the popular game Left 4 Dead.2-3 weeks AFTER I posted the article,the MP Seng Han Thong got burnt.Apparently,someone made a police report that I had instigated the old man to burn the MP,via posting that article.
I was driven back to Cantonment Complex and subjected to an interrogation by these persons.Chief among them was 1 who identified himself as Sebastian,supposedly from the ISD.
First,they tried the “dangling a carrot & stick” / “I am your friend” method.Sebastian repeatedly stated that he thinks I am a very intelligent person and that I am very young.He repeatedly stated that he doesn’t want to see me “going in and out of jail repeatedly”(stick) when I could “choose to be a useful citizen of Singapore.(carrot)”.Apparently,if I confessed to whatever they wanted,they would “help me become a useful citizen of Singapore.”
When I showed no emotion at such an approach,they decide to switch methods.The next method they used was pure aggression,subjecting me to a barrage of personal insults / defamatory statements in an attempt to wear me down mentally.And then they would suddenly make an incriminating statement,trying to catch me off-guard so I would inadvertently “confess” to having “conspired against the state of Singapore” and / or “participated in terrorism activities.”
In what I feel was an attempt to wear me down mentally,they made a host of
personal,defamatory attacks to me.Barbed comments like “You stay in a 3 room flat?It’s like a pig’s sty.” “You remind me of a donkey,of a mule.You are just an animal that needs to be shown who its master is.” “Some people say you can lead a donkey to water,but you can’t make it drink.Today I am here to force you to drink.” “You write rubbish,everything you say online is rubbish.”
They then repeatedly tried to lead me to “confess to having acted against the state of Singapore and committed terrorism acts” via the following method.
The 4 of them would conduct a boisterous conversation,during which insults would be constantly thrown at me.Then suddenly 1 of them would say “You committed such-and-such an act,right?” and try to catch me off-guard.I stayed calm,did not react to any aggravation and repelled all attempts by stating no repeatedly.
Having failed in their attempts to coax / coerce a “confession” of “acting against the state of Singapore and committing terrorism acts” out of me,they then stated they wanted to record a statement with regards to my post on Stomp.
At this point,I requested to have a lawyer present to assist me.All of them was visibly shocked and looked taken aback.After regaining their composure,they tried to convince me that I did not have the right to get a lawyer.I stated clearly I knew my right to a lawyer and that I wanted to contact Mr Chia Ti Lik,a well-known lawyer who I heard of through news reports and via the website www.wayangparty.com .
Sebastian then proceeded to defame Mr Chia Ti Lik by stating that I should not trust Mr Chia Ti Lik because Mr Chia Ti Lik is the “Slipper Man”.”Slipper Man” is an Opposition MP who was in the news because his China-born daughter-in-law murdered his other daughter-in-law.When I enquired as to the relevance of this,Sebastian claimed that Mr Chia Ti Lik cannot be trusted as he is of the same family,the same genes.The fact is,Mr Chia Ti Lik and “The Slipper Man” are 2 different persons.I strongly feel this is a gross slur on Mr Chia Ti Lik’s professional reputation.
The statement was taken by a Mr Iskander Tang,from the CID Bomb Investigation Squad.Through creative usuage of the English language,Mr Tang crafted a statement which had me “confessing” to various “offences”.He then coached me by stating that I should express remorse for my “offences” and hope for leniency.The final paragraph of the statement was dedicated to which nicknames I go by on the Internet.As I strongly suspected that this was another attempt to discredit me,I refused to express remorse for my “offences” and refused to sign the statement.
Subsequently,after frantic consultations with Sebastian over the phone,Mr Tang had me sign a statement which stated simply the nicknames I used on the Internet.After this,he stated that I had to surrender my laptop to him,upon which he would provide me with a receipt.I complied.
As I was thinking that everything was over,Mr Tang indicated that he had more things to say to me.
And I quote,”Mr Tan,if you walk out of here tomorrow,you might get killed.You might meet with a mysterious accident,you might disappear and nobody will know what happened to you!”
“Mr Tan,some things and people in this country you cannot offend!Some people are above all things!You better make sure you know this!”
“Mr Tan,we can arrange for things to happen to you.You understand or not!”
I was then escorted out of the building.
List of Trangressions
1)Denial of Access to a Lawyer
2)Defaming a Prominent Lawyer,the Eminent Mr Chia Ti Lik, Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
3)Death Threats issued against my person
4)Arrest made with no basis/evidence of any crime committed
5)Attempted Coercion / Coaxing / Coaching of A Confession
6)Repeatedly Insulting A “Suspect”
7)Attempt to get me to signed a “Confession” through mis-writing what I had said
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Comments (11)
What human rights?
This is Singapore.
Do continue posting so we know if anything has happened to you.
they shouldn't do that. i mean, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty and they are like treating you as a criminal. haiz. oh well.
How do I know you're saying the truth?
You had alot of suppositions in your statement. And if you're in CID for interrogation, it is highly unlikely you will be facing a ISD officer cos ISD officers won't expose themselves to you unless they know they have absolute evidence that you're the criminal, isn't it? If not, why do they wanna risk uncovering themselves in front of a 'would-be' criminal, then there are terrorists out there on the lookout for ISD officers?
If you're still blogging all of this, it means there's no evidence against you and hence, you wont have met any ISD officers at all.
You put alot of words into others' mouth, but there's nothing to testify you're telling the truth.
Maybe you wanna block this comment so your readers won't know you're making things up.
Sorry for the spamming, but I have additional comment to give.
ISA does not detain people who criticise the police force. If you read ISA carefully (the Act itself is online), they act against people who fabricate tales to divide people through the lines of race, religion and the likes that puts society at risk of division.
Also, even if they succeed in making you plead guilty to the charges, it is insufficient to prosecute you for you need at least 2 pieces of evidences to be convicted. Hence, I would applaud you for the nice story you made up. Entertaining read. Unless of course, they have evidence that you had indeed helped terrorism in Singapore... good luck to you =)
i doubt this guy's telling the truth....
dude..... seriously... anyone could have made this story up.
wonderful piece of fiction...amazing imagination, you must have been watching one HK drama serial too many...
Erm, regardless of whether Po is telling the truth or not, ISD does have the power to detain without trial or evidence in the name of National Security whereby, even a Citizen will lose all forms of human rights.
This is a known fact which is why human rights groups in other countries are always trying to shut down ISD Similar authorities.
Apologise but no link to verify my words. Can just treat it as baseless if you like.
Well, you have to know what constitutes evidence in the Penal Code. When lawyers say without evidence, it is usually taken to mean substantial evidence. But ISA comes into effect if there is certain evidence but (1) not apt to disclose to public for fear of mass paranoia (2) not enough to convict, yet ascertain there's a link to immediate and widespread threat of national peace. There's where the 'without trial' condition comes about, for any trial that takes place without substantial evidence would render ISA useless for the accused will be left scot free.
The reason why human rights groups are always trying to protest against ISA alike legislation is due to (1) asymmetric information between the public (ie human rights groups) and (2) abuse by politicians. Of course, many are implying that the current ruling party is abusing the Act for many detained are non-party members. In game theory, you abide by the rules you created or left untouched. Party members who do not abide by the rules are more likely to be prosecuted publicly than by ISA.
Again, you don't lose all human rights. If you are detained under ISA, what you lose is the freedom of space. You still retain your right to food, your right to education and the likes. It is the same as what prisoners are given in state prisons: you get to play sports, keep healthy, study, eat nutritious food. All that you lose as a right is the ability to run free. If you do lose the right to food and all of that, MSK would not have run free due to the lack of food.
Note that I'm not trying to defend ISA or any institutions, but a lot of what you or the blogger say can be logically or game-theoretically be explained/rebutted.
@gssq - Thank you,i will try my best.:)
@musthavejustice - Yes,it is really sad.What we are trying to determine is what exactly is the desired outcome of their so-called investigation.
@icesurfer - @sam - @Nike5 Zoom T-7 - Hi,i have put up my full information.The police know who i am.I had the assurance from the police officers who requested i write about the encounter : "Gary,as long as you tell the truth,write the facts and post it up online,i personally guarantee nothing will happen to you."
More information will be revealed on www.WayangParty.com video interview with me,which will be released on Monday 23/03/09.
I believed what you said. I know of someone who got is also suspected of theft and bought to the police station. They used the same method to make him confess when he was innocent.
To those who don't believe him, you have been brainwashed too much by sg government. Wait till you all get caught by the police and interrogated then u will believe.
They just want someone to close the case. SPF sucks!
I am of the opinion that if what he is saying is rubbish and did NOT occur, there would be some action taken against him by now. Because if those are lies, our government would not possibly allow someone to taint the name of our police force in such a manner.
which leads to me to believe that what he is saying is, to a certain extent at least, true.
For those who previously said that he is probably writing some fiction or HK drama, think about what i just said above.