新加坡政府在公民姚俊威事件上
如何对待自己的公民

HOW SINGAPORE TREATS ITS OWN CITIZEN
THE CASE OF DICKSON YEO

Teo Soh Lung

It takes more than four months for the Ministry of Home Affairs to inform the public that Dickson Yeo, a Singaporean was issued with a two year detention order on 30 January 2021. See https://www.mha.gov.sg/mediaroom/press-releases/order-of-detention-under-the-internal-security-act-singaporean-dickson-yeo

Just last week, the Ministry had issued a press release concerning three Muslim detainees. It could have included the detention of Dickson Yeo in the press release but it chose to stagger the news. Perhaps its intention is to afford The Straits Times to give a two page coverage on Dickson's case so as to impress upon us that we have dangerous spies in our midst and the ISA is indispensable for our survival.

Dickson Yeo was convicted of spying for China in a court in America. He was convicted and served a 14 month prison term there and then deported home. He was immediately apprehended on his arrival in Singapore on 30 December 2020. The ISD has therefore held him for more than five months. Yet according to the ministry's statement “Investigations are still on-going and his continued detention is necessary to facilitate probes into the full extent of his activities. ...”

Why does our elite police force take so long to investigate his case?

If America can afford Dickson Yeo, a foreigner an open trial, why cannot Singapore give him an open trial? Why detain him under the ISA which as we all know means that he can be imprisoned without trial for an indefinite period of time as the two year detention order can easily be renewed at the whims and fancies of the minister.

As a civilised nation, our government must seriously consider why it treats its own citizens so cruelly and definitely worse than the government of a foreign country. It should stop giving us the lame excuse that “... The Singapore Government takes a very serious view of anyone who enters into a clandestine relationship with a foreign government and engages in activities at the behest of the foreign power that is inimical to our national security and interests, including bilateral relations.” Every government takes a serious view of espionage and not just Singapore.

Our government should examine its sadistic policy of using the ISA on people for the lamest excuse. Dickson Yeo is a citizen, a father or son of someone. He is a human being like our million dollar ministers who I am sure, treasure freedom.