A 46-year-old Singaporean man who left a comment on a Facebook post about the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was sentenced to four months in jail on Mar. 20, 2024.

Kong Chee Kian commented: [sic] "Pls someone do the same to our PM".

He was referring to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the comment left on Jul. 8, 2022.

Kong pleaded guilty to a charge of inciting violence electronically, The Straits Times and CNA reported.

Court proceedings revealed that Kong posted the comment as he did not like the Singapore government and was "looking for someone to blame" for his difficulty finding permanent employment due to health issues.

Made the comment on a CNA article

On the day of the incident, Kong was surfing the internet on his phone when he read a CNA article posted on its Facebook page about a man being taken into custody after Abe was shot.

He replied in the comments, "Pls someone do the same to our PM."

An anonymous person made a police report after seeing the comment, and Kong was arrested on the same day.

The person had stated that someone had made threats to "our PM" and that they hoped action could be taken.

They also said they were "not sure if this is a troll".

Made other comments related to PM Lee

Kong also left another comment on the same day on a Facebook post by Yahoo Singapore about Abe's death, saying, "Your good friend LHL will join you".

In addition, under PM Lee's Facebook post tribute to Abe, Kong left a comment in Mandarin, which was translated in court documents:

"If you are going the right way, afraid that people would plot against you but you are not."

Kong later clarified that his comment was intended to convey his opinion that PM Lee "was not a good person" and that this would lead to "other people [plotting] against him", CNA reported.

Kong also made other online comments related to PM Lee on other occasions.

About a month prior, Kong also responded to an Instagram post asking users to comment on what a Tamagotchi toy was, with "wrong answers only".

He wrote that the Tamagotchi was the "only weapon" against Singapore's Prime Minister.

Serious and ominous: Judge

The prosecution sought a jail term of four and a half to six months for Kong.

The prosecutor said that anyone who resorts to inciting violence against the head or senior members of the government must not be tolerated despite their dissatisfaction with the government for any reason, ST reported.

She added that the failure to tackle such behaviour could lead to the proliferation and normalisation of such offences.

Meanwhile, Kong's lawyer asked for a two-month imprisonment term, noting that it was Kong's first offence and he had fully cooperated with the police during investigations.

The lawyer added that Kong is remorseful for his conduct and that his family will support him following his imprisonment to ensure that he “remains on the right side of the law”.

The district judge described the offence as serious, and it warranted a custodial sentence, CNA reported.

“He made a specific threat to assassinate and not just to beat up. All of this makes it much more serious and ominous,” she said.

She also said that weaponising social media platforms to incite violence must be dealt with firmly.

Top photo from Canva