Singaporeans arrest author at book launch...

He had the audacity to write about executions in Singapore..and now he's been charged with criminal defamation...

A BRITISH author who was arrested here on Sunday for alleged criminal defamation was released early on Tuesday morning on $10,000 bail.

Freelance journalist, Alan Shadrake, 75, will be required to remain in Singapore to assist the police in their investigations, a police spokesman said.

'He must seek the permission of the police if he wants to leave the country,' the spokesman added.

Addressing public speculation that Mr Shadrake's arrest was linked to the Government?s position on capital punishment, a spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) said: 'The Singapore Government?s position on the issue of capital punishment is not new.

'Those who disagree with our position have presented their arguments and as a matter of principle, we respect their right to hold such opposing views, as we hope they do ours.'

Mr Shadrake's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi, said that his client appeared 'shaken and tired' when they met on Monday. He said Mr Shadrake, who was arrested at his hotel on Sunday morning, is now resting at a hotel in Chinatown.

This is standard procedure in Singapore - the government routinely sues people (particularly opposition politicans) for libel, or in this case, defamation. Pretty chilling, no?