SINGAPORE WATCH : Face in the Mirror

A judge in Singapore has further besmirched the nation’s already soiled reputation for intolerance by ordering an American scholar and the American-owned International Herald Tribune to stand trial for criminal contempt of court.

The government alleges that the scholar, Christopher Lingle, defamed the Singaporean judiciary by writing an article in the newspaper stating that repressive Asian governments often used “a compliant judiciary” to harass and bankrupt political critics.

He did not mention Singapore by name. But the government’s reaction suggests it readily recognized its own judiciary, and tends only to confirm Lingle’s argument. Lingle’s comment was nothing more than the ordinary political expression permitted in democratic countries worldwide. It would scarcely have raised an eyebrow anywhere but in the most insecure and repressive regimes.

Singapore’s ambassador to Washington, S. R. Nathan, argues that Singapore has a duty to uphold the integrity of the courts and that the defendants can expect a fair trial. Doubting fair trial, Lingle wisely gave up his job as an economics teacher at the National University of Singapore and fled the country.

The Herald Tribune, which publishes its Asian edition in Singapore, could not escape so easily. Familiar with the quality of Singaporean justice, it published an abject apology, only to have that used as ground for a separate libel suit filed by a former prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

Fair warning for foreigners seeking to do business in or travel to Singapore.