Back in July, a disenchanted individual made an audacious attempt at staging a protest in the middle of Raffles Place, demanding for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to resign over some ‘Terrex Conspiracy”. Unfortunately for him, no one bothered to join in, and he was swiftly arrested by the police and charged in court.
In the latest hearing, Yahoo Singapore reported that 41-year-old Yan Jun has been sentenced to three weeks in prison and slapped with a $20,000 fine for four counts of taking part in a public assembly without a permit, and one count of behaving in a disorderly manner by yelling at police officers through a loudhailer. His jail term is backdated to July 5, when he was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
Yan had staged the protest on July 3 outside Raffles Place MRT station by holding a placard reading “PM Lee: Resign over Terrex Conspiracy!” while shouting through a loudhailer. He was arrested and released that day, only to return the next day to protest about the same issues, before cops handcuffed him again.
Unsurprisingly, he was previously fined for staging demonstrations outside the Istana, and had staged protests outside the American Embassy and British High Commission last October and December, which brought about one charge each. He would be sentenced to an additional 12 weeks in jail if he is unable to pay the $20,000 fine.
Eleven witnesses, including the police officers involved, were called in to testify against Yan, who was unrepresented.
“[Yan] claimed trial despite the overwhelming evidence against him. He proffered no defence at trial, and did not even challenge any of the evidence against him.” Deputy Public Prosecutor Randeep Singh said in his closing statement, adding that the man showed no remorse and planned to continue with his protests. Yan was also reportedly disruptive and interrupted the prosecution several times.
“He has instead abused the trial process and used the trial as a further soapbox for him to cast baseless and spurious allegations against the judiciary, the prosecution and the police,” said District Judge Ng Peng Hong, who agreed that a deterrent sentence was required for Yan’s constant flouting and disregard for the law.
Yan, however, intends to appeal the ruling.
