A Singapore Court jailed three opposition-linked activists for contempt of court for donning identical T-shirts with a picture of a kangaroo wearing judge's robes during a politician's hearing, news reports said Friday, dpa reported.
Opposition Democratic Party assistant secretary general John Tan Liang Joo, 47, was sentenced Thursday to 15 days jail while Isrizal Mohamed Isa, 33, and Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman, 20, were each sentenced to seven days.
The sentenced was meted out after the trio refused to apologize for their actions for wearing the T-shirts in the Supreme Court from May 26 to 28 during a hearing to determine damages to be paid by Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan and his sister, Chee Siok Chin, after they were found guilty of defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
Justice Judith Prakash also ordered each to pay 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,318 US dollars) in costs and other expenses to the Attorney General's Chambers for inferring Singapore's judicial system was characterized by kangaroo courts, the Straits Times newspaper said.
The court proceedings were initiated by the Attorney General's Chambers against the defendants for having "scandalized the Singapore judiciary."