Activist Kokila Annamalai contests charge of allegedly defying POFMA order in first such trial
After she received the correction direction, Kokila Annamalai put up an article titled, "I Defy: Why I am not complying with my POFMA Correction Direction".
Singapore activist Kokila Annamalai faced trial on October 7, 2024, for allegedly defying a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction. Annamalai posted on social media in October 2024, criticizing the drug trafficking trial of a man on death row. The POFMA Office alleged that she made two false statements in her posts: that the government arbitrarily decides execution schedules and does not bear the legal burden of proving drug trafficking charges.
Annamalai, 38, faces a second charge under the Public Order Act for participating in an assembly advocating for the abolition of capital punishment. Her defense argued that POFMA does not apply to facts and opinions, and the correction notice exceeds its powers. The prosecution maintained that Annamalai knew about the correction direction and available challenges but chose to ignore them.
The trial began with the prosecution's opening address, with Deputy Public Prosecutors Timotheus Koh and Stephanie Koh asserting that Annamalai's defiance was a deliberate non-compliance.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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