Back in June 2020, Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng held up a placard while visiting hawkers in his ward.
Due to his failure to apply for a permit before doing so, he was under police investigation for a possible offence.
Mr Ng now faces no charges for his actions as he was fulfilling his duty as an MP.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that Mr Ng will not be charged for holding a placard without a permit.
On 5 Oct, a spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said the AGC has instructed the police against taking further action against Mr Ng. He explained:
Mr Ng was exercising his duty as a Member of Parliament, in expressing care and support for the welfare of the hawkers in his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The spokesman added that the nature of the act and intent of the perpetrator are key in considering if there was an offence and any public interest in prosecuting it.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the investigation against Mr Ng started after a similar incident with activist Jolovan Wham.
Mr Wham was charged and convicted for participating in an assembly and holding up a sign which read, “Drop the charges against Terry Xu and Daniel De Costa” outside the State Courts in December 2018.
Comparing the two cases, the spokesman said Mr Wham was demonstrating in a prohibited area.
He thus acknowledged that the facts of both cases are different.
Mr Ng posted the picture of himself holding the placard on Facebook on 20 Jun 2020.
Source: Louis Ng Kok Kwang on Facebook
In the post, he called for residents to support hawkers after the end of the ‘Circuit Breaker’. In a few of the images he shared, he held up a sign that said, “Support Them”.
Addressing the investigation in a subsequent post, he said he was on his regular walkabout in the area and wanted to check on the hawkers.
Mr Ng had wanted to encourage residents to support hawkers, which was why he held the sign up and took photos with them.
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Featured image adapted from Louis Ng Kok Kwang on Facebook.
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