1987 posted on Saturday, August 13, 2005
Peter asked him, "Doesn't she have any rights?" He looked at Peter in a funny way and the rest laughed cynically. The search took some 40 minutes
The basement was pitch-black except for the glaring lights. I was led into a room
Barefoot and in prison garb, I felt humiliated and very cold. I was shivering and I tried very hard to stop my teeth from chattering but I could not, and the interrogators just watched me as I was in near-spasms trying to control the cold
I never completed my sentence: one of the interrogators slapped me across my left cheek, not with a flick of his wrist but with the full force of his body. I fell to the ground and my glasses landed on my chest
This was the first time in public that I was bra-less and I stooped whenever I walked so as to hide my breasts
I vomited countless times, and by the morning of the third day I had my period and I stained the prison pants.
Some three days before it, my case officer typed out a summary of what I had to say and made me memorise it
On one occasion, I asked S. K. Tan why he had slapped during the interrogation. He told me that I was mistaken. I had moved back and lost my balance
When queried on my future plans, I told him that I would get a job and continue my flat hunting and, if I was free, interested and approached, help in the election campaign of opposition candidates. He told me that that was what had got me into trouble in the first place and that politics should be left to the politicians
They repeated my case officer's words, adding that I had to be very careful what I said to the press as this would affect the release of those still inside
We do this, without fear or favour, because we passionately believe that Singapore belongs to all its citizens regardless of colour or creed and that for a small, multi-racial city state, our collective survival hinges on continued stability and security.
Above all, therefore, we cherish the character qualities of Integrity, Courage, Loyalty and Self-Sacrifice, for ours must always be a cause greater than our self
--
Peter asked him, "Doesn't she have any rights?" He looked at Peter in a funny way and the rest laughed cynically. The search took some 40 minutes
The basement was pitch-black except for the glaring lights. I was led into a room
Barefoot and in prison garb, I felt humiliated and very cold. I was shivering and I tried very hard to stop my teeth from chattering but I could not, and the interrogators just watched me as I was in near-spasms trying to control the cold
I never completed my sentence: one of the interrogators slapped me across my left cheek, not with a flick of his wrist but with the full force of his body. I fell to the ground and my glasses landed on my chest
This was the first time in public that I was bra-less and I stooped whenever I walked so as to hide my breasts
I vomited countless times, and by the morning of the third day I had my period and I stained the prison pants.
Some three days before it, my case officer typed out a summary of what I had to say and made me memorise it
On one occasion, I asked S. K. Tan why he had slapped during the interrogation. He told me that I was mistaken. I had moved back and lost my balance
When queried on my future plans, I told him that I would get a job and continue my flat hunting and, if I was free, interested and approached, help in the election campaign of opposition candidates. He told me that that was what had got me into trouble in the first place and that politics should be left to the politicians
They repeated my case officer's words, adding that I had to be very careful what I said to the press as this would affect the release of those still inside
We do this, without fear or favour, because we passionately believe that Singapore belongs to all its citizens regardless of colour or creed and that for a small, multi-racial city state, our collective survival hinges on continued stability and security.
Above all, therefore, we cherish the character qualities of Integrity, Courage, Loyalty and Self-Sacrifice, for ours must always be a cause greater than our self
--