Three women accused of organising procession outside Istana for Palestinian cause acquitted

Three women who were accused of organising a procession outside the Istana to publicise the cause of solidarity with Palestine were acquitted on Oct 21.

Ms Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, 26, Ms Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, 30, and Ms Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 37, had been accused of organising a procession on Feb 2, 2024, along the perimeter of the Istana, bound by Orchard Road, Buyong Road and Cavenagh Road.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Attorney-General's Chambers said: "The prosecution will be filing a notice of appeal in relation to the court's decision to acquit the accused persons."

The three women were each charged under the Public Order Act, with the case going to trial on July 1.

In acquitting them on Oct 21, District Judge John Ng said the women had an honest and reasonable belief that they were not in breach of any prohibited areas order.

He added that it was unreasonable to say they ought to have known that the route taken by the group that day would be within a prohibited area.

The judge noted that the defendants had argued that what happened on Feb 2 was not a procession to publicise a cause, but rather an activity organised to deliver letters.

However, Judge Ng said in his sentencing remarks that it was disingenuous to suggest that the women were only helping to deliver letters, and deny that they were publicising the cause of solidarity with Palestine.

Security camera footage produced in court during the trial showed a group of around 70 people gathering outside Plaza Singapura before they walked towards the Istana while holding open umbrellas painted with a watermelon graphic.

The fruit represented the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Judge Ng said Ms Sobikun and Ms Amirah had decided that the procession would be a good way to get a response from the Prime Minister.

The judge said: "The defence tried to downplay the significance of this admission by suggesting that the physical delivery of letters was just a plain exercise in delivery and not for any cause."

"This attempt by the defence to dissociate the actions of the accused persons from the cause and to water it down to just the act of delivering letters, and to ensure that people do not get lost, is both disingenuous and disappointing," he added.

The judge, however, made clear that the women were not charged for supporting this cause or delivering letters in support of the cause. Instead, they were charged for organising a procession along the perimeter of the Istana, which is a prohibited area.

Judge Ng said the prosecution bore the burden of proving two basic­ elements of any criminal ­offence: the accused individuals' guilty act and their guilty state of mind.

He said while the prosecution did prove that Ms Sobikun and Ms Amirah had organised the procession, with assistance from Ms Annamalai, it failed to show that the women ought to have known that the procession was conducted on the grounds of a prohibited area.

The judge said the women had not reasonably known that the route they took from Plaza Singapura to the Istana was a prohibited area under the Public Order Act.

"The route taken was via a pavement regularly used by members of the public," he said.

"There were no sign­ages or notices to indicate or inform users that the public path was part of a prohibited area," he added.

Judge Ng noted that there had been other individuals who walked to the rear gate of the Istana to deliver letters, which did not give the women any inkling that the route would be illegal or prohibited.

The judge said: "It is clear from the evidence that the three of them were trying their level best not to run afoul of the law in carrying out the activity of delivering letters to the back gate of the Istana, even though contrary to their best efforts and thinking, that walk under­taken by the group with the watermelon umbrellas amounted to being a procession under the Public Order Act."

"In conclusion, I am satisfied that an acquittal for the three accused persons is in order," said Judge Ng to loud gasps in the packed courtroom.

After the judge left the court­room, cheers erupted in the packed public gallery at the State Courts with supporters hugging each other.

Those convicted of organising a public procession in a prohibited area can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.