master chee jinxes his hairier ang mos

March 19, 2009
Fined $10,000 for contempt

By Zakir Hussain

Ms Kirkpatrick, who was not in court, had acknowledged responsibility for the publication of three articles in the Journal's sister paper - the WSJ Asia - that were found to be in contempt of court. -- PHOTO: ST FILE PHOTO

A SENIOR editor of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has been found in contempt of court.

Dow Jones 'disappointed' with decision
In a statement issued after the fine was meted out on Thursday, a Dow Jones spokesman said it remained extremely disappointed with the Court's ruling against the company in November, and strongly disagreed with its finding that the articles constituted contempt of court.

'It is regrettable that although the Court already imposed a fine against Dow Jones, the Attorney General still chose to pursue additional contempt charges,' he added.
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Ms Melanie Kirkpatrick, the deputy editor of the New York-based financial daily's editorial page, was fined $10,000 by Justice Tay Yong Kwang on Thursday.

She also has to pay legal costs of $10,000.

She has seven days to pay the fine.

Ms Kirkpatrick, who was not in court, had acknowledged responsibility for the publication of three articles in the Journal's sister paper - the WSJ Asia - that were found to be in contempt of court.

For running these articles in June and July last year, Dow Jones Publishing (Asia), the publisher of WSJ Asia, had been fined $25,000 by the High Court in November.

On Thursday morning, Principal Senior State Counsel David Chong of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) told the court that the conviction of the publisher alone 'would not be a sufficient deterrence to editors who are responsible for the contents of WSJ Asia.' He argued that by her editorial decisions that led to the publication of the three articles, Ms Kirkpatrick had committed contempt of court.

The first article was an editorial on Singapore's democracy, arising out of a hearing in May last year to assess damages that Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan and others had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for libel.

The second was a letter from Dr Chee in reply to a rebuttal of that editorial by MM Lee's press secretary.

The third article was another editorial on the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute's report on the Singapore judiciary.

Last November, Justice Tay found, among other things, that the articles alleged bias and lack of independence on the part of the judiciary.

Mr Chong said a sufficiently deterrent sanction had to be imposed 'to dissuade her and other like-minded individuals, whether in the employ of Dow Jones or other media companies, from engaging in a brand of journalism that seeks to denigrate the Singapore Judiciary'.

He said the fine should be no less than that imposed on Dow Jones last year.

Senior Counsel Philip Jeyaretnam, representing Ms Kirkpatrick, said his client, like the WSJ Asia's publisher, 'had no intention or desire to undermine any institution in Singapore, including the Singapore Judiciary and its individual judges'. He said an appropriate fine would not be more than $10,000.

In handing down the fine, Justice Tay took into account that Ms Kirkpatrick was a second offender, unlike Dow Jones which was found in contempt three times.

She had been fined $4,000 for contempt of court in an article she wrote in 1985. He also noted that she did not contest the court's finding that the three articles were in contempt of court.