Use of Singlish, Hokkien vulgarities ‘shows TRS editor’s involvement’
Yang Kaiheng and Ai Takagi, ex-editors of The Real Singapore. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The use of Singlish and Hokkien vulgarities in Skype chats involving a shared account of Yang Kaiheng and his wife Ai Takagi took centre stage when his sedition trial resumed on Tuesday (March 29), as the prosecution sought to prove his involvement in the running of the now-defunct sociopolitical site The Real Singapore (TRS).
Yang, 27, is fighting seven charges under the Sedition Act, arguing that he was not involved in the distribution and proprietorship of TRS, which had published seditious articles.
His charges are identical to those that Takagi, the former editor of TRS, had been convicted of and sentenced to 10 months’ jail for.
On Tuesday, prosecutors and the defence locked horns over whether it was Yang or Takagi talking when their shared Skype account able_tree was logged in chats where TRS’ viewership and other matters were discussed.
Noting the use of Singlish and Hokkien vulgarities, the prosecution tried to show that Yang — instead of Takagi, who is an Australian of Japanese descent — was using the account during these chats.
The case’s investigation officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Roy Lim, read excerpts from these chat logs on the stand on Tuesday.
For instance, in one chat with a web developer, able_tree had raised concerns about TRS being too reliant on getting viewership from its Facebook page. Able_tree wrote: “What if my page tio (gets) ban, then gg (good game).”
The Skype user also said he/she is “actively writing political articles” even though he/she had sold TRS to a doctor at an undisclosed price.
The chat logs also revealed that able_tree had the intention to set up an equivalent of citizen journalism website STOMP in Australia while claiming to be a “professional” at generating content that may sow discord.
Another chat, which occurred after the Little India riot in December 2013, showed able_tree commenting that Singaporeans were “too tame liao”.
During his cross-examination of DSP Lim, defence lawyer Choo Zheng Xi said there was no objective evidence to suggest that his client wrote, edited or uploaded any of the seven allegedly seditious articles. DSP Lim agreed.
Mr Choo also got DSP Lim to read about an excerpt from a conversation between Takagi and another user, where she had used the Singlish expression “lah” in her texts.
Asked by Mr Choo if Takagi spoke Singlish over the course of his investigations, DSP Lim said she had, at times.
But she only used the Singlish expression “lah”, he added.
Mr Choo went on to point out that in chats with a Vietnamese programmer over plans for a new site, the programmer had addressed able_tree as “Ai”.
The lawyer contended that this suggested Takagi was the one using the able_tree Skype account between Feb 14 and March 25, 2013 — where some of the chats cited by the prosecution had taken place.
The trial continues on Wednesday with the continuation of DSP Lim’s cross examination.
