A British author promoting his book on the death penalty in Singapore was arrested there on Sunday for alleged criminal defamation.
Alan Shadrake's arrest came two days after the government's Media Development Authority lodged a police report. The Foreign Office said it was seeking further information from Singaporean authorities. The 75-year-old has also been served with an application by the attorney general for "an order of committal for contempt of court", police said. Mr Shadrake, who was arrested at a hotel on Sunday, remained in police custody as the investigation was ongoing, a police spokesman said. More on Telegraph
The book contains interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former police officers, as well as a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison. It claims he executed around 1,000 men and women from 1959 until he retired in 2006.
"I think I've been given a fair hearing," Shadrake told the media after the verdict was issued last week. US-based Human Rights Watch and other rights groups had urged Singapore to exonerate the author. Separately, Shadrake is being investigated by the police for criminal defamation; his passport is being held by the police. BBC
Singapore introduces death penalty for use of irony (newsbiscuit) and Capital punishment in Singapore (wikipedia)