Singapore man jailed for threatening ‘torture’ and ‘death curses’ against judges who upheld anti-gay law
LGBT+ advocates form the words ‘Repeal 377A’ in Singapore on June 29, 2019. (Ore Huiying/Getty)
A man has been jailed for threatening a High Court judge and the Singapore judiciary on social media after they upheld a discriminatory anti-gay law.
Muhammad Hanif Mohamed Huzairi, 31, was sentenced to seven months in prison after pleading guilty to using threatening words towards a public servant on Instagram.
He also admitted to two counts of communicating an electronic record containing an incitement to violence.
“To the deadass boomer of a judge who dismissed the challenges against S377A, you better f**king watch out!!” he said in his Instagram stories, shared with 267 followers.
Commenting on another post, he wrote: “Time to hunt down the oppressive judges, who basically maintained the legalisation of discrimination against us, and make them pay the ultimate price.”
And another of his posts read: “Can we please torture the corrupted judges until they f**king crumble & repeal S377A on the spot!? Pretty please, I’d love to personally torture them to their breaking point.”
He published the messages on 30 March, the day that High Court justice See Kee Oon dismissed three separate challenges to the colonial-era Section 377A, which defines sex between consenting men as “acts of gross indecency” punishable by up to two years in prison.
This also extends to anyone who abets, procures or attempts to procure such acts.
Justice See stopped Singapore’s decriminalisation movement in its tracks when he dismissed the challenges, firmly rejecting arguments that the law is unconstitutional.
The verdict was described as “astounding” and “utterly shocking” by the plaintiffs, who had argued that Section 377A infringes the right to equality, life, personal liberty and expression in Singapore.
The court heard that Huzairi was similarly dismayed when he found out that the challenges were dismissed. He felt that the judges had to be replaced and expressed his displeasure by posting Instagram stories and commenting on Pink Dot SG’s Instagram post.
His seven month prison sentence is relatively short compared to the maximum jail time he was facing.
For communicating an incitement to violence Huzairi could have been jailed for up to five years, and for making threatening communication against a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to a year. All charges also carry the potential for hefty fines, Today Online reports.
