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Singapore. The Court of Appeal on Monday reserved judgment on British author Alan Shadrake's appeal against his contempt-of-court conviction.

The case centers on his book, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore's Justice In The Dock, about the death penalty in Singapore.

In November last year, Shadrake, 76, was sentenced to six weeks' jail and a $20,000 fine - the heaviest punishment handed down here for contempt of court by way of scandalizing the judiciary.

He was found by Justice Quentin Loh to have impugned the impartiality, integrity and independence of the courts here in 11 passages in his book. The 11 statements were among 14 cited by the Attorney-General"s Chambers (AGC) when it brought contempt proceedings against him last year. The remaining three were not in contempt, ruled the judge.

Shadrake, represented by lawyer M. Ravi, then went to the Court of Appeal.

On Monday, Ravi argued that Justice Loh had used too low a threshold in determining that his client was liable for contempt.

"If this book is so dangerous, it's astonishing that it"s not banned," he said, noting that the authorities have only advised retailers that distribution of the book would amount to contempt of court.

He compared Shadrake"s case to that of Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan, who was jailed a day for contempt by telling a judge to her face that he did not think the court was independent. In Shadrake"s case, his book was about the death penalty and not focused on the judiciary, Ravi argued.

But Senior Counsel David Chong, for the AGC, argued that such statements as appeared in the book erode the public's confidence in the authority of the courts.

He likened it to "guerrilla warfare" as it was "so easy for someone to allege bias on the part of the courts."

Chong added that Shadrake was unrepentant, noting how the author said he had done nothing wrong, stood by what he said and would continue to distribute the book, even coming up with a second edition.

The hearing dwelt mainly on technical arguments over issues such as the various legal tests for liability for contempt and the interpretation of the passages in the book.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, Justice Lai Siu Chiu and Justice Philip Pillai, reserved judgment after the 21/2-hour appeal.

Shadrake later told The Straits Times a "libel-free" edition of his book is slated for release in Australia and Britain and published by Australia-based Murdoch Books.

Asked if the new edition, which includes his experiences following his arrest, will be on sale here, he said the publisher will not allow the book to be imported into Singapore. The first edition was by a different publisher.


Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055