CNA forumer Johnlaw still missing after 3 weeks

CNA forumer Johnlaw who leaked about CDC bonuses still missing after 3 weeks

The netizen going by the moniker “Johnlaw” who posted about 2 staff of Northwest CDC receiving 8 months of bonuses in 2008 on CNA forum had been missing since his sensational allegations stirred a furore in cyberspace in the beginning of March.

(Johnlaw had also emailed us confidential information about the CDC bonuses. We have been trying to contact him unsuccessfully for the past few days).

Johnlaw was a well-known regular forumer of Channel News Asia for the past few years. He hasn’t been seen posting on the forum for the last 3 weeks. His sudden disappearance had led to speculations that he might been invited to a “limp kopi” or coffee session with either the police or the ISD (Singapore’s secret police).

A post was started on CNA forum by a concerned forumer (read it here) enquiring about his whereabouts.

Wrote “Little Red Dot”:

“John, pls tell us you are OK. Are you in Guantánamo we are worried…Pls make some sound leh”

Mewannabe thinks his disappearance has something to do with the link:

“I think he leaked out the news too early la.. So ask him for kopi to see where his source from. This news will definitely spread out sooner or later.. but he too anxious to share with all bros and sis here.”

Still, there were no replies from Johnlaw.

So was Johnlaw really invited to a “limp kopi” session by the police for his audacious whistle-blowing?

The internet is full of conspiracy theories of how the secret police is monitoring and tracking the postings made by cyber-dissidents who occasionally get “invited” by them for a coffee session should they cross the OB markers.

Some netizens believe that their posts made on government-owned forums like STOMP and Hardwarezone are under continued surveillance by the authorities though there is no concrete evidence suggesting otherwise.

Coincidentally, a blogger using the moniker “PothePanda” posted a statement on his blog at Xanga on 13 March 2009 claiming that he was arrested and interrogated by the police over a post he made on STOMP Talkback forum. (read his official statement here)

His post drew flak from some fellow bloggers who posted comments on his blog lambasting him for making up the story:

Wrote icesurfer:

” How do I know you’re saying the truth? You had alot of suppositions in your statement. And if you’re in CID for interrogation, it is highly unlikely you will be facing a ISD officer cos ISD officers won’t expose themselves to you unless they know they have absolute evidence that you’re the criminal, isn’t it? If not, why do they wanna risk uncovering themselves in front of a ‘would-be’ criminal, then there are terrorists out there on the lookout for ISD officers? If you’re still blogging all of this, it means there’s no evidence against you and hence, you wont have met any ISD officers at all.You put alot of words into others’ mouth, but there’s nothing to testify you’re telling the truth.”

Another anonymous netizen is supportive of his revelation:

“I believed what you said. I know of someone who got is also suspected of theft and brought to the police station. They used the same method to make him confess when he was innocent. To those who don’t believe him, you have been brainwashed too much by sg government. Wait till you all get caught by the police and interrogated then u will believe.”

Is “PothePanda” telling the truth? Or is he simply making baseless allegations to serve some nefarious purpose?

We caught up with “PothePanda” over the weekend to conduct an exclusive 45 minute interview with him. Watch it on wayangparty.com tomorrow and judge his words for yourself.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24943.1