Chan Hiang Leng Colin v Public Prosecutor

Chan Hiang Leng Colin v Public Prosecutor
The Old Supreme Court Building, photographed in April 2007
Court	High Court of Singapore
Full case name	Chan Hiang Leng Colin and others v. Public Prosecutor
Decided	15 September 1994
Citation(s)	[1994_SGHC_207.html [1994] SGHC 207] [1994] 3 S.L.R.(R.) 209
Case history
Prior action(s)	The appellants were convicted in the District Court for possession of banned publications.
Related action(s)	Chan Hiang Leng Colin v. Minister for Information and the Arts [1995] 2 S.L.R.(R.) 627, H.C.; [1996] 1 S.L.R.(R.) 294, C.A.
Court membership
Judge sitting	Yong Pung How C.J.
Case opinions
The deregistration of the Singapore Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and banning of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society publications are neither unconstitutional nor ultra vires. The right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 15(1) of the Constitution can be restricted on the ground of public order.

Chan Hiang Leng Colin v. Public Prosecutor is a 1994 judgment of the High Court of Singapore delivered by Chief Justice Yong Pung How which held that orders issued by the Government deregistering the Singapore Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses under the Societies Act (Cap. 311, 1985 Rev. Ed.) and banning works published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society ("WTBTS") under the Undesirable Publications Act (Cap. 338, 1985 Rev. Ed.) (now Cap. 338, 1998 Rev. Ed.) did not violate the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 15(1) of the Constitution of Singapore.

The Court said that the constitutionality of the orders had to be presumed, and the appellants bore the burden of establishing that the orders were unconstitutional or ultra vires. The orders had been issued because Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to perform national service, which the Government regarded as contrary to public peace, welfare, and good order. The Court could not question the Government's exercise of discretion in this regard. Thus, the orders were laws relating to public order, which are exceptions to freedom of religion set out in Article 15(4). The Court also emphasized that any religious belief and practice which offends the sovereignty, integrity and unity of Singapore must be restrained. In reaching its decision, the High Court applied a "four walls" approach to interpreting the Constitution and declined to examine foreign case law. There is academic criticism of the fact that the Court interpreted the concept of public order broadly, and did not balance the appellants' fundamental liberties against the public interest.

The High Court also held that the orders were neither irrational nor disproportionate. The order banning all WTBTS publications was reasonable as it would be administratively impossible to monitor any order other than a blanket ban. As for the deregistration order, the Court accepted that the Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal to perform national service prejudiced national security, and was thus appropriately issued in the interest of public order. The Court noted that Singapore's administrative law does not recognize proportionality as a distinct ground of judicial review.

Although the appellants argued that natural justice had been breached because they had not been consulted prior to the issuance of the orders, the High Court observed that where the public interest is at stake the English courts have held that principles of natural justice must apply in a modified manner. In a 1977 case, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that the audi alteram partem ("hear the other side") principle did not need to be complied with if the public interest so demanded.