Sale of Far Eastern Economic Review banned in Singapore

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa
Published: Thursday September 28, 2006

Singapore- Singapore revoked on Thursday approval for the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) to be sold or distributed in the city-state. "It is a privilege and not a right for foreign newspapers to circulate in Singapore," said a statement from the Ministry for Information, Communications and the Arts.

FEER's Hong Kong-based publisher failed to appoint a legal representative and pay a 200,000 Singapore dollar (129,000 US dollar) bond, the statement said, referring to the Review Publishing Co. Ltd.

The publisher had "not complied by the September 11 deadline, nor has it complied till today, despite a reminder sent to FEER on September 14," the statement said.

"It becomes an offense for any person to sell or distribute or import or possess for sale or distribution" FEER in Singapore," it added.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew are suing FEER over an article focusing on Chee Suan Juan, the secretary-general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, and a vocal critic.

The article in the July issue included Chee's comments about a scandal at the city-state's largest charity.

The 44-year-old Chee was the focus of international attention last week when he spent three nights on the pavement a few blocks from the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Chee said he was trying to draw attention to the lack of freedom of speech and assembly in the city-state.

He has already been made bankrupt by a lawsuit stemming from the 2001 election.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa