Jolovan Wham charged with staging illegal protests outside old State Courts, in Toa Payoh
Jolovan Wham holding up signs outside the old State Courts and in Toa Payoh. (Photos: Facebook/Jolovan Wham)
SINGAPORE: Activist Jolovan Wham Kwok Han was charged on Monday (Nov 23) with staging illegal protests in front of the former State Courts building and near a police centre in Toa Payoh.
Wham, 40, is accused of staging a protest on Dec 13, 2018, on the steps of the building that housed the State Courts at the time.
He is shown in a photo he uploaded to Facebook holding up a sign that said: "Drop the charges against Terry Xu and Daniel De Costa".
In doing so, he allegedly took part in an assembly that was prohibited under the Public Order Act.
Xu and De Costa were later charged over a criminal defamation case involving Government officers.
Wham's second charge was for an incident on Mar 28 this year, when he allegedly took part in a public assembly without a permit near Toa Payoh Central Community Club and Toa Payoh Neighbourhood Police Centre.
He did so by holding up a piece of cardboard with a smiley face drawn on it, said charge sheets, and had a photo taken of himself.
This was allegedly in demonstration of his support for the actions of a Nguyen Nhat Minh, who was depicted in another photo holding up cardboard with the words: "SG IS BETTER THAN OIL @Fridays4futuresg".
Wham posted a selfie on Facebook before his charging on Monday, showing himself wearing a shirt and a mask with smiley faces on them. The caption read: "My guilt is plain for all to see. On my way to the State Courts! #smileinsolidarity".
This is the latest of Wham's run-ins with the law. His appeal against his conviction and sentence of a S$3,200 fine over an event involving Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was dismissed in October last year. When he was sentenced, he said he would not pay the fine, choosing to go to jail instead.
READ: Jolovan Wham fined for organising public assembly without permit, chooses to go to jail instead
On top of the fresh charges, he faces other pending charges for allegedly organising other assemblies on MRT trains and outside the prison.
Wham will return to court on Nov 27. If convicted of taking part in an illegal public assembly he could be fined up to S$5,000 per charge.
