25 October 2025: Surprise, an acquittal!

It feels like such a long time since I wrote a regular wrap, but things really got messed up with four executions in the span of three weeks. I had to take last weekend off because I mentally/emotionally hit a wall. But now I'm back, and it's looking like a fun month is coming up with travel!

(1)

Well, this was a surprise: the court acquitted three women charged for their involvement in a collective letter delivery to the Istana in solidarity with Palestine. Many of us were expecting Camira, Sobi, and Kokila to be convicted because, well, this is Singapore. But the judge acquitted them, saying that the prosecution failed to prove that they had known that the route the letter delivery had taken was a prohibited area. There were no signs around declaring the place a prohibited area, and people have walked that way so many times to deliver letters to the Istana with no incident.

This is a good result—and goodness knows civil society could do with wins like this—but we can't be too happy yet. Firstly, the prosecution says they're going to appeal this verdict; apparently the state thinks it's worth wasting even more time and resources on this. Also, although the judge acquitted the three, he found that the letter delivery action had constituted a procession, which is the ridiculous result of how broad the Public Order Act is. Ultimately, this is still not really a win for freedom of assembly in Singapore.

(2)

Singapore is still struggling with scams, and the government is trying to crack down. But how much is too much? There are the (relatively) minor inconveniences of additional checks introduced by banks, but there are also more extreme measures like allowing cops to issue restriction orders on people's bank accounts.

Then there's the proposal to introduce caning for scammers and mules who help facilitate scams. This comes straight out of the regular PAP Singapore playbook of punishment and violence as deterrence. But will it really address the problem? Many scams are conducted from compounds located elsewhere in Southeast Asia, where other issues related to politics, corruption, impunity, poverty, and desperation make it a huge headache to address. (In the August 2025 issue of Mekong Review, we have a piece about Vietnamese workers in Southeast Asian scam compounds, revealing how, while many people in scam compounds are victims of human trafficking, some actually end up working there because they lack access to other economic opportunities.)

Other questions: Is there something about Singaporeans that make us very scammable targets? Is it something about media literacy and critical thinking? Does it have to do with a habit of obeying authority (or someone we perceive to be the authority)? What else should we be doing, beyond punitive and restrictive controls, to address this big problem? And seeing that the police are probably drowning in scam cases, can we stop it with the stupid investigations into activism (see above) that waste everyone's time?

(3)

Over the past couple of weekends, people have been going on wet strikes (i.e. no food, but water and electrolytes allowed) to draw attention to genocide in Palestine. Another batch are doing it this weekend, starting their wet strike last night. They're also spotlighting this fundraiser for Nadim, who turns 18 in Gaza today. There's supposedly a ceasefire going on—although there are reports of Israel breaching it—but investigations are showing that the "Israeli military is exerting control over more of Gaza than expected from the ceasefire deal with Hamas" and the World Health Organisation says that the hunger crisis is "catastrophic".

Calla, who's on the wet strike this weekend, shares why they're doing this:

I am striking as a 20-year-old Singaporean who has easy access to food whenever I wish to eat. Even through this campaign, I am so starkly conscious of the comforts that are afforded to me. We strike in an air-conditioned room, with a dedicated care team ensuring we have electrolytes at every point. We strike, knowing that at the end of the 48 hours, we will have food given to us.

But it is exactly with this privilege that we have, that we are using our nourished bodies to fight for those who don’t.

I adamantly believe that we have the capacity to build a kinder Singapore. One that doesn’t turn a blind eye to the evils of the world, whose hands aren’t stained with blood. The narrative that staying ‘neutral’ is a net positive is a blatant lie. We are complicit in the genocide of Gazans. We do have blood on our hands. And we can do something about it, despite state suppression. I strike, because I refuse to be jaded. Because I am patriotic enough to be stubborn in fighting for a Singapore that is embedded in humanity, even if I have to fight tooth and nail for it. Even if all other avenues have been exhausted.

And so, we are using our bodies as a means of protest. Free Palestine.

Social media algorithms are opaque and fickle, so a more reliable way to get updates from the group would be to join their channel on Telegram. TJC will also be conducting a public teach-in on 26 October (Sunday) from 4pm–5pm on the policing of pro-Palestine activity in Singapore. The livestream of this teach-in will be shared via their channel, so keep an eye out for it.

Upcoming trips!

🇮🇩 This coming week I'll be at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, representing Mekong Review and moderating three sessions: Dim Sum Diaries, Modern Identities, and The War Women Wage. Barring printing calamities/delays, I should also be bringing copies of the November 2025–January 2026 issue of Mekong Review for sale in the festival bookshop; I'm so excited for people to see this tenth anniversary issue!

🇦🇺 After Ubud I will next be at OzAsia's Weekend of Words in Adelaide, where I'll be speaking in two sessions: Fake News / Real Journalism and I Get My News from TikTok (confession: I don't actually, but this is just the title of the session). I'm also scheduled to do a live reading—I just have to decide what I'll be reading!

🇦🇺 And after Adelaide comes Brisbane, where I'll be talking about my observations of the experiences of death row families: Between two worlds – death row families in Singapore.

Thank you for reading! As always, feel free to forward this weekly wrap to anyone you like, and spread the word about this newsletter!