Man charged for urging violence against police officers who arrested Benjamin Lim

A man was charged in court on Tuesday (April 12) for his Facebook comments that incited violence against five police officers who had arrested 14-year-old Benjamin Lim back in February, according to local media reports.

The Straits Times reported that 40-year-old Chia Choon Kiat, an Internet marketeer, was charged with three counts of communicating an electronic record containing an incitement to violence.

Going by the user name of "Rambo Power", Chia had allegedly posted two Facebook comments, between Feb 2 and 5, that had linked out to news articles regarding Lim's death. The 14-year-old boy was found dead after undergoing police investigation for an alleged outrage of modesty case.

Chia's arrest was reported by AsiaOne last month after he allegedly said on Facebook: "Please reveal the identity of the five plain clothes officers and we go handle them ourselves. Kill them."

On Jan 13, Chia made a Facebook comment about "Cigarette Butt Officers" and for that, he faces a third charge, Channel NewsAsia reported.

He had allegedly wrote: "Don't play or attack Cigarette Butt Officers when they are on duty...

"Track and Trace them down where they stay and where they work and 'play' them when they are off duty with no government's protection and cannot claim medical fee from their boss."

According to online reports, Chia is being represented by lawyer Alfred Dodwell and had also agreed to be examined by a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health.

On Jan 25 this year, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly molested in a lift and the suspect was later identified as Benjamin Lim. The incident was captured on CCTV.

The case was a subject of debate in Parliament last month and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam presented both the facts and falsehoods of the situation.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg