MP Louis Ng Won’t be Charged for Holding Placard Without Permit

By
George Yang
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You might know Louis Ng as the Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC, or Louis Ng as the person who fought for cats’ rights to stay in HDB flats. Or maybe you’ve mistaken him as Adam Khoo.

But what you might have forgotten is that last year, the police said that they were investigating Ng’s 2020 visit to Yishun Park Hawker Centre…for certain images that he posted online:

Image: Facebook (Louis Ng Kok Kwang)

The whole idea is for people to support hawkers, of course, during the end of the Circuit Breaker period.

The issue is that this could be a possible offence of public assembly without a permit.

And now, there’s a conclusion.

MP Louis Ng Won’t be Charged for Holding Placard Without Permit

Yesterday, the Attorney-Chambers General’s (AGC) said that they had instructed the police to take no further action against Ng under the Public Order Act.

The spokesman for AGC said, “Investigations have revealed that 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 also said that the nature of the act and the person’s intentions are important factors in deciding whether or not an offense has been committed, and whether or not it is in the public’s interest to prosecute the offense.

In other words, must use common sense lah.

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What Happened

Back in June 2020, Ng shared about his visit to the hawker centre on Facebook.

Attached in the post were four pictures, with him smiling alongside happy stall owners. He was also holding up a piece of paper with the words “Support Them” and a little smiley face drawn at the side.

In the original post, he encouraged residents to visit the hawkers as well.

He praised the hawkers, saying that they “worked hard during the past few months to try to make ends meet and to provide yummy food for us”.

“More than ever, our hawker heroes need our support,” he said.

After  reports of the police investigations surfaced, he explained that his visit to Yishun Park Hawker Centre in June 2020 was part of his regular walkabout.

He clarified his intentions in doing so, citing the importance of that particular visit.

“This was an especially important walkabout as we had just emerged from the circuit breaker. I was there to make sure our hawkers were doing okay. As we all know, they suffered badly during the circuit breaker,” he justified.

“I also wanted to urge our residents to support our hawkers and held a sign indicating this and took photos together with the hawkers.”

He then stated his compliance with the SPF, and had provided them with a statement after they asked him for one.

He then made a separate addendum that he had also held up a similar sign in January 2021 for a video introducing the first-ever parliamentary motion on climate change.

“To clarify, that sign was an empty piece of cardboard. The words were superimposed into the video which I posted,” he wrote.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Louis Ng Kok Kwang)

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]