PAP MP Yee Chia Hsing and Zaqy Mohammad will be asking the Law Ministry to increase penalties and introduce new law provisions to prosecute websites publishing “fake news”. According to the order paper published on the parliament website, the two PAP MPs want greater punishments for “fake news”:
However, the Singapore government is likely to abuse the new laws to censor the internet. Publishing news not favourable to the ruling party PAP and dictator Prime Minister is tantamount to “fake news” in the government’s eye.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has introduced a number of new censorship laws in recent years to protect his reputation and his father’s. The internet bear the bulk of burden from the censorship board, with laws requiring websites to register a S$50,000 bond if they want to comment on current affairs.