Monday, October 10, 2005

Go to jail, do not pass Go(al)

I wrote in my blog of 17 September 2005 about some bloggers who used this same medium to write insulting and hurtful things about other races in Singapore. They were subsequently charged by the local police for sedition. The verdict is out. Two of them got 1 day (plus $5000 fine) and 1 month of jail time respectively for their intemperate blogging. I did not expect a custodial sentence, but the law courts thought otherwise.

On reflection, perhaps this is the appropriate response to curb people from writing hate-blogs, which serves no useful purpose other than incite hatred among peoples - and hatred kills.

"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him". 1 John 3:15

In the past, it has led to wars and conflicts where more than just a 1 month jail sentence is involved. You may call me over-reactive, sensationalist, and whatnots, but I believe history is on my side.

I hope that this episode is a lesson to all bloggers (at least those in Singapore) to blog responsibly.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you will have a lifetime career trying to stop the ignorant and rascist bloggers on the internet. the internet has given the most obscene people the means of spreading their venom. prior to the internet, haters, other than hitler and stalin, were pretty much localized without world wide support. the times have now changed for the worse.

Epilogos said...

Its true, what you wrote. In the highly interconnected world today, we need to be more vigilant. Censorship is not always a preferred means (it sometimes helps). We need to ensure that the young ones do not grow up receiving the wrong message and imbibing the wrong values. That is the surest way of perpetuating the disease of hatred, envy and strive.