‘Sticker Lady’ charged in court for 15 counts of mischief
[UPDATED Tuesday, 26 March 11:31 am]
26-year-old artist, Samantha Lo, aka "Sticker Lady", was charged in court on Tuesday morning over 15 counts of mischief.
Dressed sharply in black suit and wearing shades, Lo arrived in court alone. She appeared emotionless when the charges were read out and did not say a single word.
Her male accomplice, Anthony "Antz" Chong, 30, was charged with three counts of abetting Lo, who is being represented by Senior Counsel Philip Jeyaretnam and Derek Kang.
Kang told waiting media that Lo will plead guilty to only seven of the 15 counts of mischief, while Chong will only plead guilty to three.
Lo and Chong are allegedly behind the "My Grandfather Road" series of street signs and stickers that were found painted on sections of Robinson and Maxwell roads in May last year.
Circular stickers printed with various captions were also found on a pavement near Lau Pa Sat. Captions
included taglines such as “Press once can already” and “Anyhow paste kena fine”. It's understood that these stickers were also found on other road traffic signs across Singapore.
Both were charged with mischief and not vandalism, which carries a heavier sentence. If convicted, both will be slapped with a fine and/or a jail term not exceeding two years.
In arriving at the decision to charge Lo and Chong, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) also considered, alongside other factors, representations made by Counsel and also a Member of Parliament on their behalf.
Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam wrote a letter of appeal on behalf of the duo after a meeting with them last year.
Lo is the founder of online arts magazine RCGNTN. An online petition to reduce Lo’s charges from vandalism to public nuisance garnered more than 15,000 signatories as of press time, as hashtags like #freestickerlady quickly trended on Twitter following news of her arrest.
Lo's arrest also sparked widespread debate about the difference between street art and vandalism.
"No amount of arts and culture education will help if the government keep treating their creative talents like this," wrote Facebook user Merlin Kun on Yahoo! Singapore's FB wall on Tuesday.
Related stories:
Street art or vandalism?
4 in 10 say it's street art: Yahoo! poll
Online petition for Sticker Lady
