The nurse who allegedly made anti-Singaporean comments on Facebook was charged on Tuesday with sedition and giving false information to the police.
Filipino Ed Mundsel Bello Ello, who was sacked by Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), faces two charges of publishing a seditious comment on his Facebook account and three of lying to the police.
The 28-year-old allegedly said Singaporeans are “loosers” (sic) and vowed to “evict” them from their country and prayed that “disators” (disasters) strike Singapore and then he would celebrate.
He ended by saying that “Pinoy better and stronger than Stinkaporeans” in his Jan 2 post.
He also allegedly commented in another post that evening that he would “kick out all Singaporeans and SG will be the new filipno state”.
The charges, under the Sedition Act, say the publications have the tendency to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between Singaporeans and Filipinos in Singapore.
Ello is accused of lying to the police at Chong Pang Neighbourhood Police Post the next day that he did not post the comments on Facebook.
On Jan 4, he is said to have lied to a senior officer at at Ang Mo Kio Police Division headquarters that he did not post those comments and that his Facebook account had been hacked.
The last charge accuses him of giving false information to the same officer on Jan 5.
Ello, who was not represented, told the court he would be engaging a lawyer.
Bail of $10,000 was offered and his passport has been impounded.
A pre-trial conference has been set for April 21.
If convicted, he could be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to three years on each charge of sedition.
For lying to the police, he could be jailed for up to one year and/or fined up to $5,000 on each charge.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
