S’pore Police Rejects Snowball.04 Licence Application
Fridae.com,
December 8, 2004
By Editor
Fridae appeals the decision and asks the relevant
authorities to reconsider their position on Snowball. The police on Wednesday
rejected an application for a public entertainment licence (PELU) to hold
SnowBall.04 on December 26. It is the first time that a PELU licence has been
denied as organiser Jungle Media, a Singapore subsidiary of Hong Kong-based
Fridae.com, had obtained licenses for past events, namely Snowball in December
2002 and 2003, Nation (August 2002, 2003, 2004), Squirt (April 2004), Boys of
Summer (June 2003) and Paradise Ball (December 2003).
Despite the fact that Nation.04 had been nominated for
“Best Event Experience” in the 2005 Singapore Tourism Awards, the Police
said that “the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is
contrary to public interest in general.”
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Police said
the following were taken into consideration:
“The promotion materials were widely advertised on
Fridae.com, a known gay portal;
“Observations during the indoor Opening Ball at Suntec
showed that patrons of the same gender were seen openly kissing and intimately
touching each other. Some of the revellers were cross-dressed, for example,
males wearing skirts. Patrons were also seen using the toilets of the opposite
sex. The behaviour of these patrons suggested that most of them were probably
gays/lesbians and this was thus an event almost exclusively for gays/lesbians;
“A number of couples of the same sex were seen hugging
and kissing in public after the event while waiting for taxis and checking
into the nearby hotels after the party;
“Several letters of complaint were received from some
patrons about the openly gay acts at the Ball.”
It also said: “The Police recognise that there are some
Singaporeans with gay tendencies. While Police do not discriminate against
them on this basis, the Police also recognise that Singapore is still, by and
large, a conservative and traditional society. Hence, the Police cannot
approve any application for an event which goes against the moral values of a
large majority of Singaporeans. Future applications for events of similar
nature will be closely scrutinised.”
Chief executive officer Stuart Koe said the rejection
came as a surprise as Fridae has “had a very congenial working relationship
with Pelu and various police jurisdictions” as well as Police presence and
cooperation at all their past events.
Dr Koe said: “Our events are known to be extremely
professionally organised and have earned both domestic, as well as
international acclaim. Nation.04 attracted 8,000 participants.
“In a study commissioned by the Singapore Tourism
Board, Nation.04 was estimated to have generated $10 million in tourism
revenue.”
Fridae has written to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng last
night appealing the decision and asking the relevant authorities to reconsider
their position.
In the event that SnowBall is cancelled, a full refund
will be granted. Updates will be made available as soon as possible.
Readers can write to (please copy info@fridae.com
if you do so):’
- Prime Minister’s Office (pmo_hq@pmo.gov.sg),
- Feedback Unit (feedback_unit@mcys.gov.sg),
- Ministry of Home Affairs (mha_feedback@mha.gov.sg),
- Singapore Police Force Licensing Division (SPF_OPS_Licensing@spf.gov.sg),
- Singapore Police Force Licensing Public Affairs Department (spf_spinet_webmaster@spf.gov.sg),
- Singapore Tourism Board (feedback@stb.com.sg),
- The Straits Times Forum (stforum@sph.com.sg)
and
- Today Newspaper Forum (news@newstoday.com.sg).
Writers to the forum pages should include his/her full name, address and a
telephone contact number. For women, please indicate Miss, Mrs or Ms.
See Fridae CEO Stuart Koe’s letter to PM Lee Hsien
Loong on the next page.
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