Filipino jailed 4 months for insulting Singaporeans online

A 28-year-old Filipino man was sentenced to four months in jail for insulting Singaporeans online and lying to the police, local media reported on Monday.

Ello Ed Mundsel Bello was convicted of three charges, according to Channel NewsAsia. The charges include one count under the Sedition Act for promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility, and two counts of providing false information to police. In the meantime, two additional charges, including lying to the police, were taken into consideration in Bello's sentencing.

Bello wrote a Facebook post in January which ignited Singaporeans. The post said "I will be praying that disators ( disasters) strike Singapore and more Singaporeans will die than ( then) I will celebrate."

He later told Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he worked as a nurse, that his Facebook was hacked. However, during the police investigation, Bello admitted that he had posted three other comments in 2014, which had touched on race and religious issues and offensive comment on Singapore. He was later sacked from the hospital.

In court on Monday, the judge said Bello exploited the anonymity he enjoyed online in posting such "provocative remarks, intended to agitate, infuriate" Singaporeans, adding that the provocative remarks could "lead to discrimination against law- abiding Filipinos in Singapore."

Bello's lawyer said his client did not intend to appeal the ruling.

According to local media, for inciting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore, Bello could have received a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars or a jail term of up to three years, or both.

And he could have also faced a jail of up to one year, a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars, or both, for lying to the police. Endi