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Terry Xu, the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) website, has been slapped with an S$18,000 fine on Apr. 6, 2023, for contempt of court.

TOC article published in 2021

On Jan 27, 2021, TOC published an article that reproduced a letter written by a former Singapore permanent resident, Julie Mary O’Connor.

O'Connor, an Australian citizen, wrote the letter after she departed from Singapore and published it on her blog on Jan. 27.

The letter mentioned high-profile cases such as those of Lee Suet Fern and Li Shengwu, who are Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's family members, and Parti Liyani's case.

She made allegations against the justice system in Singapore, which Xu published in full on TOC.

He later shared the article on Facebook and included an excerpt.

The Attorney-General Chambers commenced the suit after Xu refused to take down the article and Facebook post, alleging that he committed contempt of court under section 3(1)(a) of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act.

Justice Hoo Sheau Peng, who presided over the proceedings, published her judgement on Apr. 7.

AGC: Xu lacked remorse and should be fined S$20,000

The Attorney-General (AG) argued that Xu committed contempt of court by publishing the article and sharing it on Facebook, where the article's content "impugns the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary" by suggesting that Singapore's legal system can be influenced by people who are rich or with power and can be motivated by political means.

The AG recommended that Xu be fined S$20,000, or a default sentence of ten days, on the grounds of Xu's high level of culpability, lack of remorse displayed in his refusal to apologise to AGC and accede to their demand for him to remove the article and Facebook post among others.

Xu claimed fair criticism

Xu argued otherwise, claiming that the letter criticised the AGC, not the Judiciary or the courts and that the comments made toward Chief Justice's opening speech amounted to fair criticism.

Xu said a S$3,000 fine, or a default sentence of four days, was appropriate.

Direct attack on the Singapore courts

Hoo explained that to determine if Xu was guilty of contempt of court, it must be proven that the material he published was contemptuous and he intended to publish them.

She found that the article had multiple paragraphs that were "a direct attack on the Singapore courts" and the article as a whole "impugns the integrity, impartiality, and propriety of the courts".

The allegations do not constitute fair criticism

Hoo also found that the allegations do not constitute fair criticism, as there was a lack of objective or rational basis for the allegations and a lack of good faith.

On whether Xu intended to publish the article, Hoo notes that he does not contest that he did.

Not only was he the Chief Editor and web publisher of TOC, he also admitted during investigations that he intentionally published the article on the website.

Hoo emphasised that under the law, there is no need to prove if the contemnor intended to undermine the administration of justice and merely if he intended to publish the contemptuous material.

She also made similar findings for the Facebook post and found Xu guilty of contempt of court.

Fined S$18,000

Turning to the sentence to be imposed, Hoo explained that Xu's culpability was high, and it was made worse by his complete lack of remorse and that his removal of the article and the Facebook post was "selective and belated".

"As the chief editor of TOC, a website which professes to be 'Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform', he failed to practise responsible journalism and instead proceeded to publish scurrilous allegations against the courts."

Xu has to pay the fine within four weeks or serve ten days in jail.

He was also ordered to pay S$12,000 in costs to the AG.

Top image from Terry Xu/Facebook