THE staccato clatter of computer keys clicking all over Singapore this week signalled the hurried emptying of hard drives of any material that might transgress the republic's laws on pornography.
The sudden round of electronic spring cleaning was prompted by the conviction of 41-year-old Lai Chee Chuen on 77 charges of having obscene films, downloaded through the Internet, as well as a collection of obscene CD-ROMS and magazines.
Coming only days after Singapore went live with its drive to clean up the Net of material regarded as pornographic, racist or seditious, it concentrated wonderfully the minds of all those who might have been surfing about in search of prurient material.
Yet the Lai case was not an example of the watchdogs prowling around at random. The arrest, made in July last year, followed intensive work by Interpol as part of a probe into child pornography rings using the Internet to exchange information and images.
Other suspicious sites were identified in Hong Kong, Britain, Canada, Germany and South Africa.
Once supplied with Lai's log-on - faithfully reproduced by the Straits Times so well-wishers could get in touch with him - the local Commercial Crime Division monitored him, and finally raided his home.
The fact that Lai, who was fined S$61,500 (HK$334,160), was a special case has not calmed fears of Singaporeans who are concerned that, government assurances to the contrary, Big Brother really might be watching them.
