--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: vinnie@apple.com (Unverified) Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 12:18:07 -0700 To: rah@shipwright.com From: Vinnie Moscaritolo <vinnie@webstuff.apple.com> Subject: 45K fine for possession Status: U http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/info/092596/info13_25205.html Singapore fines first resident for Internet obscenity Copyright © 1996 Nando.net Copyright © 1996 The Associated Press SINGAPORE (Sep 25, 1996 08:48 a.m. EDT) -- A Singapore resident has been fined for downloading obscene pictures from the Internet, the first such case since the government announced it will censor what people can see on the global computer network. Lai Chee Chuen, 41, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of collecting of pornographic pictures from the Internet and of possessing Penthouse, a magazine banned in Singapore, the Straits Times newspaper reported today. It said Lai was fined $43,900. In July, the government announced rules for censoring the Internet. By a Sept. 15 deadline, the three local Internet providers installed powerful computers blanking out some of the sites that showed prohibited pornography or anti-government material. Police seized the pictures from Lai's home in July 1995. Laws covering computer pornography have yet to be drawn up, so the government prosecuted Lai under a general law against possession of obscene visual images. Lai's conviction served to demonstrate that the government's Internet regulations are no idle threat. The Times, a pro-government newspaper, published Lai's picture on the front page to emphasize the point. Neither Lai nor police were available for comment. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender." -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard, for Bart Simpson The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/