Student Kills Blog After Threat from Singapore

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A Singapore student said on Monday he has shut
down his blog and apologized unreservedly after a government agency threatened
to sue for defamation. Chen Jiahao, a 23-year-old graduate student in
the United States, told Reuters he closed down his personal Web site
after A*STAR, a Singapore government agency focusing on science and research,
threatened legal action for what the agency said were untrue and serious
accusations.

International freedom of speech and media advocates criticized the agency’s
methods.
Chen said he had removed all material from his site and posted an apology
on April 26 after receiving e-mails from the agency’s chief. He added that
the agency told him last week his apology was insincere and that they wanted
a new apology.

On Sunday he posted the new apology on his "Caustic Soda" blog,
saying "I unreservedly apologize to A*STAR, its Chairman Mr. Philip
Yeo, and its executive officers for the distress and embarrassment caused
to them."

"They sent me an e-mail with these words," Chen told Reuters
on Monday by telephone from the United States, where he studies chemical
physics
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

from Reuters