MP Louis Ng will not face charges for holding placard without permit in support of hawkers: AGC
SINGAPORE — Mr Louis Ng, a Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency, will not face criminal charges for holding up a placard in support of hawkers, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said on Wednesday (Oct 5), stressing that his case was different from one that civil rights activist Jolovan Wham was recently convicted of.

Member of Parliament Louis Ng holding up a sign urging Singaporeans to support their neighbourhood hawkers at Yishun Park Hawker Centre in June 2020.
- The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said it has directed the police not to take further action against MP Louis Ng
- In June 2020, Mr Ng had posed for photos with hawkers while holding up a piece of paper with a smiley face and the words “Support Them”
- His actions drew comparisons with that of activist Jolovan Wham, who was charged after holding up a piece of cardboard with a smiley face on it
SINGAPORE — Mr Louis Ng, a Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency, will not face criminal charges for holding up a placard in support of hawkers, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said on Wednesday (Oct 5), stressing that his case was different from one that civil rights activist Jolovan Wham was recently convicted of.
In June 2020, Mr Ng had written a Facebook post asking Singaporeans to support their neighbourhood hawker centres as the country was exiting the circuit breaker period, or partial Covid-19 lockdown.
The post was accompanied by five photographs of himself with hawkers at various stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre. In these photos, he was holding up a piece of paper with a smiley face and the words “Support Them”.
The police said in March last year that they were investigating the incident after socio-political website The Online Citizen questioned whether Mr Ng had obtained a public assembly permit before taking these photos.
The AGC said on Wednesday that police investigations have concluded. It has directed the police to take no further action against Mr Ng under the Public Order Act, which criminalises demonstrations without a permit, The Straits Times first reported.
In a statement to TODAY, the AGC said: “Investigations have revealed that Mr Ng was exercising his duty as a Member of Parliament, in expressing care and support for the welfare of the hawkers in his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
It added that the nature of the act and the intent of the person performing the act are key considerations in deciding whether an offence has been committed or whether there is any public interest in prosecuting the offence.
The Online Citizen website had compared Mr Ng’s actions to that of Mr Wham, who was charged after he held up a piece of cardboard with a smiley face drawn on it near the Toa Payoh Neighbourhood Police Centre in March 2020.
Mr Wham, who had posted photos online of himself holding the cardboard, was alleged in court documents to have been demonstrating his support for an environmental youth activist.
Mr Wham has been given a discharge amounting to an acquittal for the charge.
He most recently served 15 days behind bars instead of paying a S$3,000 fine in a separate case for holding a piece of paper outside the former State Courts building in 2018 that read: “Drop the charges against Terry Xu and Daniel De Costa”.
The AGC on Wednesday stressed that Mr Wham was charged and convicted for the assembly ouside the State Courts because he was demonstrating in a prohibited area.
"Mr Wham did not offer any defence to the charge. The facts of the case involving Mr Jolovan Wham are different from the case involving Mr Louis Ng," the AGC said.
Mr Ng had earlier said that he posted his picture with the hawkers after a walkabout, which was especially important because Singapore had just emerged from the circuit breaker.
“I was there to make sure our hawkers were doing okay. As we all know, they suffered badly during the circuit breaker,” he wrote in a Facebook post in March last year. “I also wanted to urge our residents to support our hawkers and held a sign indicating this and took photos together with the hawkers.”
Under the Public Order Act, organising or participating in a public assembly without a police permit is illegal. Anyone convicted of public assembly without a permit may face a fine of up to S$5,000.
TODAY has reached out to Mr Ng for comment.