Reuters-Singapore politician fined

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Subject: Reuters-Singapore politician fined for illegal book sale 

Singapore politician fined for illegal book sale
04:29 a.m. Mar 31, 1999 Eastern
By Raj Rajendran
SINGAPORE, March 31 (Reuters) - Opposition politician Chee Soon Juan was
fined S$600 (US$347) on Wednesday for selling books illegally but he pledged
to press ahead with his campaign for greater public freedoms in Singapore.
Chee, who was twice jailed for speaking in public without a permit, told
Reuters he would continue to sell his books.
``The bookstores won't sell it, how am I going to be able to get it out to
Singaporeans?'' he said in a telephone interview.
Chee's book focuses on Asian opposition leaders, among them Myanmar's Aung
San Suu Kyi and Singaporean detainee Chia Thye Poh who was released last
November after more than 30 years in prison under tough internal security
laws.
Chee, who has twice chosen to go to jail instead of paying fines in previous
charges of speaking in public without a permit, opted to pay the fine this
time instead of a three-day jail term.
``This is a different matter altogether. The previous cases I was contesting
on constitutional grounds, I was fighting for the freedon of speech,'' he
said.
Chee said democracy in Singapore was stifled by the public-speaking permit
system that he challenged, by censorship laws and by state influence over
key media.
The government has said the permit law was a procedural matter necessary to
maintain public order and did not substantively affect the right of free
speech. It also said there were ample outlets for people to express their
views here.