Making his first public speech yesterday at a law community event, Attorney General Lucien Wong yesterday (Oct 19) said that fake news must be prosecuted:
“Emerging problems in Singapore’s society, such as fake news and offences against elderly victims, must be tackled with “resolute prosecutorial action. More news is now being delivered through social media, messaging apps and blogs where stories are written anonymously. Not only are many stories untrue, but they are often deliberately fabricated to achieve a specific end.”
The former private lawyer of dictator Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong just before he was appointed Attorney General by the latter, then quoted The Real Singapore and inaccurately claimed that the website fabricated fake news to stoke racism to make money from the public. AG Lucien Wong claimed that he is acting in public interest:
“To make them sensational, so that more people visit the blog on which they are published, generating more money for the blogger. Or to make them controversial to stoke xenophobia and racism. It in the vital public interest to stop the flow of lies.”
The Lee Hsien Loong crony was appointed as his proxy through the control of puppet president Tony Tan. Lucien Wong said that he will decide whatever is “right” or “in public interest”:
“Prosecution of a crime is more than just to punish the wrongdoer or offender – each prosecution is done with the public interest in mind… Many exercises of the prosecutorial discretion reside along a continuum of credible, good-faith decisions made by my deputies, on the basis of evidence put before them. If the correct guiding principles are followed, I accord my officers a ‘margin of appreciation’ – in short, no one person unilaterally ‘determines’ the public interest in my Chambers.”
AG Lucien Wong even specified that there are cases where he will close an eye, like as in the cases of PAP member Jason Neo’s racist calling of Muslim children “terrorists” and former PAP NMP Calvin Cheng calling for the murdering of chidlren. The two were let off with only a warning.:
“Even as prosecutors pursue important objectives like maintaining a secure Singapore environment or promoting a culture where rights are respected, this did not mean that every offence must be prosecuted.”
There is also no mention of taking actions against the government-controlled media, Straits Times, of publishing propaganda fake news and half-truths.