Ello Ed Mundsell Bello, the Filipino nurse sentenced to four months imprisonment in Singapore for sedition, is “truly remorseful and sorry” for what he did, which was posting disparaging comments against Singaporeans on Facebook, according to his lawyer.
“A long time ago before the trials, he said that he’s truly remorseful and sorry because of what he has done,” said Mark Goh in an interview after the court slapped Bello, 29, with the sentence Monday.
Goh noted that Bello, 29, pleaded guilty for the charges.
“My client has surrendered. In fact he has already decided on a personal level that it has caused him already a lot of anxiety and stress. And therefore he did not want to perpetuate the trial and decided to plead guilty,” he said.
Aside from posting seditious messages on Facebook, Bello was also convicted for lying to the police.
All in all, he faced one count of sedition and two counts of lying to the police before District Judge Siva Shanmugam. An additional count of sedition and another count for false reporting were considered by Shanmugam.
Deportation
Goh said after serving jail term, Bello will be deported back to Philippines and banned to come back to Singapore for a certain period of time.
“He will definitely be repatriated. Under Singapore immigration law, he will not be able to come back to Singapore for a certain period of time and after that period of time, subject to good review, he may be able to go back to Singapore,” the lawyer said.
Bello’s disparaging comments against Singaporeans made rounds on social media in early January. In his post on The Real Singapore’s Facebook page, he said, “Now the Singaporeans are loosers (sic) in their own country, we take their jobs, their future, their women and soon, we will evict all SG loosers (sic) out of their own country hahaha. The best part, I will be praying that disators (disasters) strike Singapore and more Singaporeans will die than I will celebrate. Remember Pinoy better and stronger than Stinkaporeans.”
He further commented, “We will kick out all the Singaporeans and SG will be the new filipino state.”
Bello initially reported to the police that he did not post the comment, claiming his account was hacked. Goh said his client lied because he feared for an online backlash.
The controversy cost Bello his job in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he worked as a radiographer.
Ready to take punishment
Goh said the decision to plead guilty means that the accused himself does not want to fight and does not want to contest the matter in trial. “It is a personal decision and not a legal decision,” he said.
He added that by pleading guilty, Bello has “mentally accepted his guilt and he is mentally prepared to take the punishment.”
“The reason why Ed was mentally prepared is because he felt that he has caused enough stress between the Filipino community working here and also the Singapore citizens,” Goh said. “So he wants to move on.”
“After the course of these proceedings, there was a lot of unhappiness on the ground. That’s not denied. He also felt that it was also very difficult for him to stay here in view of this situation. In a way he described to me, in his own words, like shooting himself on the foot. And he has already been punished with all the negative publicity and that he just wants to get on with his life,” Goh added.
The Philippine Embassy in Singapore, through Consul General Victorio Dimagiba, Jr.,
released a statement, sayin “Mr. Ello’s penalty which was metted out by the court was deemed appropriate to the charges he had been convicted.”
The embassy hopes that “since Bello has accepted the verdict of the court, this will close the issue for all parties concerned.” —KBK, GMA News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
