Reuters journalists posted on Twitter a picture of them holding placards outside their headquarters to protest against the jailing of two Myanmar reporters.

The police have reminded the public that organising or taking part in a public assembly without a police permit is illegal.

This follows the posting on Twitter of a picture of Reuters journalists holding placards outside their headquarters at 18 Science Park Drive on Monday.

Several of them were holding papers with the words #FreeWaLoneKyawSoeOo to show solidarity with the two journalists who were convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act in Myanmar on Monday.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who have been in prison since last December after their arrest for reporting on the alleged killing of 10 Rohingya people by soldiers and Buddhist villagers in Rakhine state, were sentenced to seven years' jail.

Reuters Asia's social media editor Aurindom Mukherjee tweeted the picture on Tuesday, and said the Reuters Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore "stand with them and call for their immediate release".

A police spokesman told The New Paper yesterday: "Police are aware of an online movement #FreeWaLoneKyawSoeOo.

She added that the police would engage Reuters over the picture.

Those convicted of organising a public assembly without a police permit can be fined up to $5,000.

Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.