States Times Review Website & Facebook Page Will Close Tonight By 11.59PM
A cryptic notice appeared quietly on beleaguered Australia-based website Singapore Herald this Thursday (4 Apr).
The post claims that the “Singapore government” has refused to “renew the passport” of Editor Alex Tan of the States Times Review, thus leaving them no choice but to shutdown the website & Facebook page.
Here’s the message in full, left by Singapore Herald’s Admin on States Times Review’s Facebook page.
Part of a deal?
The writer first claims that our Immigration Checkpoint Authority (ICA) has asked Mr Tan to take these 2 steps, before they can “renew his passport in person”:
- Get a documentation pass
- Fly one-way to Singapore
Closing by 2359 today
As a result, Mr Tan has decided to shut down the website permanently “as part of a deal”.
By 11.59PM on Friday (5 Apr), you can bid States Times Review & Singapore Herald’s website & Facebook page goodbye — if the admins stand by what they said.
“No less than 200 years in jail”, Tan claims
The post goes on to state that Alex Tan will be facing these charges in Singapore:
- Contempt of court
- Criminal defamation
- Foreign intervention
- Infringement of:
- Protection from Harassment Act
- Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill
Apparently, the “estimated aggregated sentencing” amounts to “no less than 200 years in jail”.
If that’s true, no wonder he prefers not to return to Singapore to renew his passport.
How accurate are these claims?
To renew one’s passport when you’re overseas, ICA’s website states you’ll have to follow this process:
- Apply online via the website
- Submit supporting documents at nearest Singapore overseas mission
- Overseas applications take 3-4 weeks to process
- Collect passport when ICA dispatches it to your collection point
We also can’t verify if ICA cut Mr Alex Tan a deal, or if he’s truly facing “no less than 200 years in jail”, until the authorities release a statement on the matter.
Time to say goodbye
As for the shutting down of States Times Review, it’s been a long time coming since the ill-fated revamp of the site as Singapore Herald. This may actually be goodbye for real.
Will you miss the States Times Review or is it time to bid them farewell? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image from States Times Review on Facebook.
