By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Singapore – The High Court of Singapore fined Wall Street Journal Asia, a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co., the amount of $16,573 for publishing articles that criticized the judiciary. This is the largest amount issued by the Singapore court for such a case.

The ruling related to two articles published in June and July and a letter written by leading opposition leader and pro-democracy activist, Chee Soon Juan.  The Attorney General issued a statement saying the published letter alleges “that the Singapore judiciary is not independent” and it “further insinuated that the Singapore judiciary is biased and lacks integrity.”

The first editorial “Democracy in Singapore” was written by Chee, which commented about his lost defamation suit brought by Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over an article that implied corruption on the part of the government.

The Attorney General further complained about another published letter to the editor that cited a report by the International Bar Association’s Right Institute on “human rights, democracy and the rule of law” in Singapore.

Among those listed as defendants were the newspaper’s publisher Dow Jones Publishing Company (Asia), Inc, international editor Daniel Herzberg and managing editor Christine Glancey. Judge Tay Yong Kwang found them guilty of “scandalizing the court.”

A Dow Jones Company spokesman said “Dow Jones is extremely disappointed with the ruling of the High Court and strongly disagrees with the court’s analysis that the editorials and letter to the editor constitute a contempt of court… contrary to what the attorney general has alleged. The Wall Street Journal Asia has not engaged in a ‘campaign’ of any sort against the Singapore judiciary. We will in the future continue to defend the right of The Wall Street Journal Asia to report and comment on matter of international importance, including matters concerning Singapore.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international media watchdog, has continually ranked Singapore as one of the lowest countries among freedom of press indexes. RSF condemned the ruling against The Wall Street Journal, “Another Dow Jones publication, the Far Eastern Economic Review, has also been prosecuted in Singapore … The way this company is being hounded by the government and the judicial system which takes its orders from Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is utterly deplorable. We urge the Singaporean authorities to stop prosecuting foreign news media.”

For more information, please see:

APF – Singapore Attorney General Sues Wall Street Journal Asia – 11 September 2008

RSF – Wall Street Journal Asia Unjustly Found in Contempt of Court – 26 November 2008

The Wall Street Journal Asia – Singapore Court Fines Wall Street Journal – 26 November 2008