Reply dated Feb 18,2016 from UNs in response to my petition to UN Working Group

 Attachment: Petition to the UNs Working Group_Yan Jun_20160218

 From: User Manager [mailto:urgent-action@ohchr.org] 

Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 2:11 PM
To: Yan Jun
Subject: Re: Petition to the United Nations Working Group: Denial of the human right against arbitrary arrest in Singapore

 

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Sincerely, 

Special Procedures Branch 
Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Divison 
OHCHR 

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Dear United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (the Working Group),

 

I would request the Working Group to investigate a case of a deprivation of liberty in Singapore.

 

Purpose of the petition

This petition is not a request to the Working Group to declare the deprivation of my liberty “unfair”, or to evaluate the facts and evidence in my case, or to act as an appellate court in Singapore.

 

The purpose of this petition is to report to the Working Group to determine whether there is a systematic violation of the fundamental human right against arbitrary arrest and detention in Singapore, pursuant to Principle 7(3) of the Body of Principles [1]. 

 

Issues in this petition

While the issues are quiet simple and falls directly into Category I of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, the Working Group is the only organization that has mandate to look into this matter.

 

The issues are as follows:

(1)   Was it lawful for the police to arrest a suspect for an offence of a “Breach of Personal Protection Order (PPO)” but the PPO was later discovered to have expired before the arrest?

(2)   Is it lawful for the police to arrest a suspect, and release him at police discretion within 48 hours of the arrest, without subjecting the suspect to a court to determine the lawfulness of the arrest?

 

The answer to the first issue is self-evident. While the Supreme Court of Singapore answered in the affirmative to the second question in its judgment of  [2014] SGCA 60 at Para 95, in sharp contrast, Article 9(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that “anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest is entitled to take proceedings before a court for an independent judicial examination on the lawfulness of the arrest”.

 

My requests

I would appreciate it if the Working Group forwards this petition to the Singapore government through diplomatic channels for an official response. It is a fact that the Supreme Court of Singapore has refused to respond to the criticism of its judgment of [2014] SGCA 60 and has persistently declined to admit that its judgment is correct. In addition, the Supreme Court hasn’t officially declare its judgment of [2014] SGCA 60 as final.

 

I hope that the Working Group reports the outcome of this investigation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which has the mandate to examine and monitor and publicly report on human rights situations in a specific country, as a general cause of arbitrary arrest in Singapore. 

 

This petition will be sent by mail, email and fax. I copy this email to the Registry of the Supreme Court of Singapore (SUPCOURT_Registry@supcourt.gov.sg) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore (agc@agc.gov.sg). If the Working Group needs further information, please let me know by email. 

 

Thank you for your attention. I am looking forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

 

Regards,

 

Yan Jun

(Singapore NRIC: S7684361I)

 

[1]: Body of Principles, at Principle 7(3) “Any other person who has ground to believe that a violation of this Body of Principles has occurred or is about to occur shall have the right to report the matter to the superiors of the officials involved as well as to other appropriate authorities or organs vested with reviewing or remedial powers”.(See attached file: Petition to the UNs Working Group_Yan Jun_20160218.pdf)