Secret Origins Of A Racist Blogger

Hell, this bring a tear to my eye. Almost. It was on this night that Gan's 1-month-old brother, Jun Fan, suddenly developed breathing difficulties. Born with a defective heart, Jun Fan had been released from hospital two weeks earlier. Gan's father was away on business. Outside their Marsiling HDB flat, his mother, Madam Koh Ah Luan, saw a Malay couple flagging down a cab. Gan, then 7, saw his mother plead with the couple to let them take the cab. He remembers how the couple got into the cab without a word. It took Gan and his mum another 20 minutes to find a cab. The baby was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. It was Jun Fan's 'man yue' - exactly a month after his birth. As his mother fell into a six-month depression, Gan said he carried the pain with him silently. 'Later, when I saw people with their brothers, I would often wonder about how old my brother would be,' he said. He started resenting the couple, though he wondered if they had realised the seriousness of the situation. As his hate grew over the years, his studies suffered. Hoping to study business in university, he transferred to a new school this year to retake the O-level exams as a private student. 'I needed an outlet for my frustrations,' he said. And in April, he found it. He chanced upon someone's blog while surfing the Internet. It spewed frustration. He decided to start his own blog immediately, giving it a 'random, angry' name: The Second Holocaust. No prize for what his angry blog got him. He became the third racist blogger to be convicted in Singapore this year.(Do they do this anywhere else?) On Oct 7, marketing executive Nicholas Lim and animal shelter assistant Benjamin Koh were given landmark jail sentences for similar offences. Lim was convicted of one charge and given a 'nominal' jail term of one day. He was also fined the maximum of $5,000. Koh, who was convicted of two charges, was jailed for one month. They were the first people to be jailed under the Sedition Act since 1966. Gan, perhaps in parts due to his tear jerker of an origin, got himself this: - undergo psychological evaluation and follow-up to address the death of his brother, - attend counselling sessions to correct his misguided dislike of Malays, - post a $10,000 bond to ensure good behaviour, and - perform 180 hours of community service. The twist of the knife in the wound? The judge suggested that part of Gan's 180 hours of community service to be done in Malay welfare homes like the Mohamidiyah and Pertapis homes so that he could have positive opportunities for interaction with the Malay community. Lesson learned : Racist Blogging Doesn't Pay.