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Pregnant Australian begins Singapore jail sentence for sedition

Japanese-Australian woman Ai Takagi has begun a 10-month prison sentence in Singapore after pleading guilty to publishing seditious articles online.

Ai Takagi
Australian Japanese Ai Takagi (R), 23, and her Singaporean husband Yang Kaiheng (L), 27, arrives at the state court in Singapore on March 8, 2016. Source: Getty Images

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Source: AAP


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The Japanese-Australian editor of a defunct Singaporean news website has begun a 10-month prison sentence for sedition, local media reports say.

Ai Takagi, who is 12 weeks pregnant, presented herself at the State Courts accompanied by her husband, Yang Kaiheng, whose own case is ongoing, The Straits Times reported on Saturday.

Takagi, 23, was convicted in March of sedition after pleading guilty to publishing seditious articles on the website The Real Singapore.

Her sentence was deferred until Friday.

Government prosecutors described the website as "a vehicle for financial gain by festering racism and xenophobia".

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One article deemed seditious alleged that a complaint by a Filipino family had led to a clash between police and Hindu participants of a festival.

The complaint was later found to be false.

The prosecution had accused Takagi of using a "toxic cocktail of vulgar language, innuendo (and) outright fabrication" to attract readership and increase revenue.

The Media Development Authority suspended The Real Singapore's publishing licence in May, and banned the couple from resuming operations under any other name.

Yang is expected to appear in court on sedition charges on June 22.


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