Within one year of taking on a A$195,000 (S$201,000) home loan, the couple who were behind the now-defunct sociopolitical site The Real Singapore (TRS) practically cleared the debt.

This fact emerged on Monday (March 28) as the sedition trial of Yang Kaiheng, who is said to have run the site with his then-girlfriend Ai Takagi, resumed.

Yang, 27, denies being involved in the distribution and proprietorship of TRS, which ran the seven allegedly seditious articles for which he is charged. But the prosecution is alleging that Yang’s involvement in the site was far from “fleeting and ad hoc” and will lead evidence to show his role was “continued, sustained and intimate”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor G Kannan on Monday.

Tendering evidence such as bank statements showing advertising revenue TRS earned from Google, Mr Kannan accused Yang of being “patently motivated by commercial greed”. The court was told the couple took out a A$195,000 home loan in January 2014, but by the end of the year, they were left with an outstanding debt of A$5,000. The repayment of A$190,600 came from Takagi’s bank account.

When Takagi’s case was before the court, it emerged that TRS raked in about A$474,000 in advertising revenue over 17 months from December 2013 to April 2015 and at its peak saw 3.2 million unique visitors per month.

Yang had one charge of failing to produce documents to the police stood down on Monday, leaving him facing seven charges under the Sedition Act. These charges are identical to those that Takagi — to whom he is married — had been convicted of and sentenced to 10 months’ jail for.

These “particularly egregious” articles, in the words of the prosecution, included a Feb 4, 2015, article that erroneously claimed a Filipino family had caused an incident between the police and Thaipusam participants by complaining about the playing of musical instruments during the procession.

The other charges relate to articles that were published between October 2013 and February last year that could incite ill-will and hostility among various groups in Singapore.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Roy Lim, who was the Investigation Officer for the case, took the stand as the prosecution’s first witness on Monday.

In his statement, DSP Lim said Yang had told him he did not manage TRS’ Facebook page.

Instead, Yang’s involvement with TRS had been mainly to secure advertisers and the fees would then be paid to his wife, Takagi.

While DSP Lim was on the stand, the prosecution tendered evidence to the court, including the articles in question, the Facebook comments on those articles, besides various bank statements.

Takagi, an Australian of Japanese descent, pleaded guilty to sedition and was last week sentenced to 10 months’ jail.

For Yang’s case, the prosecution intends to call six witnesses during the trial, which also includes members of the public.

If found guilty, Yang could be fined up to S$5,000 or jailed for up to three years on each charge. The trial continues on Tuesday.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Siau Ming En

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