A Singapore court has jailed opposition leader Chee Soon Juan for five weeks after he refused to pay a fine for breaking the country's strict rules on public gatherings.
Invoking the spirit of resistance leaders from Aung San Suu Kyi to Nelson Mandela, the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) remained defiant and urged fellow citizens to follow his stance.
'There are many ways of achieving democracy: one of the ways is to engage in civil resistance,' he said yesterday ahead of his sentencing. 'Individuals all over the world have a duty . . . not only to speak up, but to challenge and defy these unjust laws.'
Gandhi Ambalam, an SDP executive, was also ordered by the court to serve a four-week sentence after he refused to pay fines of S$3,000 (HK$13,000).
The two men were arrested by police on May 1 outside the gates of the presidential palace, where they attempted to hold a workers' rights rally without a police permit.
Police had denied Chee permission for the event, citing potential law and order problems.