Adultery website prompts FB protest

SINGAPORE - Ashley Madison's impending fling with Singapore has come under fire - hours after My Paper reported that the infamous extramarital dating website would be launching in Singapore next year.

A Facebook page called "Block Ashley Madison - Singapore" was set up on Wednesday morning by a 34-year-old Singaporean businessman, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan.

By 7pm yesterday, it had garnered over 5,000 likes.

Canada-based Ashley Madison - which facilitates hook-ups between married individuals - has already set foot in Hong Kong - to loud protests - as well as in Japan.

Here in Singapore, Mr Tan's Facebook page wants to gather "sound-minded people to express our objection" to the website, which it said "thrives on shattered marriages".

Mr Tan told My Paper that the site is "a systematic and orchestrated propagation of deteriorating values".

"We cannot allow (the promotion of extramarital affairs) to become mainstream," he said.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Communications and Information, said it was heartening to see Singaporeans "speak up for what they believe in".

He encouraged them to raise their concerns with the authorities.

Still, Mr Baey Yam Keng, deputy chairman of the committee, said there may be constraints to what the Government can do when it comes to blocking undesirable websites on the Internet.

tsjwoo@sph.com.sg

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