Overview
- District Judge John Ng issued the Oct 21 acquittal in a case stemming from a Feb 2, 2024 walk intended to deliver letters in solidarity with Palestine.
- The court held that although two defendants organised the walk and a third assisted, the prosecution did not establish the required knowledge element under the Public Order Act.
- The judge pointed to a lack of signage marking restrictions along the Istana perimeter and to evidence of prior similar letter-delivery walks to the rear gate mailroom.
- Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, 26, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, 30, and Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 37, were charged over a route from Plaza Singapura along Orchard, Buyong and Cavenagh roads.
- A conviction could have meant up to six months in jail or a fine of up to S$10,000, and the verdict prompted audible reactions in a packed courtroom.