Willy Sum, the author of an article on socio-political site The Online Citizen (TOC) has been released, without being charged or banned from travelling.

This is after being subjected to six hours of questioning by the police on Monday, Nov. 26.

The questioning had been made in relation to a case of criminal defamation pertaining to Sum's article.

However, Sum has also been informed by the police that investigations on him are not complete and he may be required to return for further question.

The announcement was made by TOC in a Facebook post in the early morning of Nov. 27:

What did the article say?

Originally published on Sept. 4, the article written by Sum was in response to the remarks made by MP for Marine Parade GRC Seah Kian Peng and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, regarding the five Singaporeans meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Aug. 30.

Sum's release was also confirmed by lawyer and activist Teo Soh Lung.

In the article, Sum criticised the remarks by Seah and Shanmugam, questioning the cause for concern with the Mahathir meeting.

Freelance journalist Kirsten Han also revealed more details about Sum being interrogated and that TOC was required to remove the article.

In one paragraph, Sum claimed the Singapore Constitution had been tampered with and that there was also “corruption at the highest echelons”, as well as criticising the current leadership in Singapore.

Sum then concluded the article by lamenting the day when Singapore might have to return to Malaysia over stagnating development.

What is the charge for criminal defamation?

According to Section 500 of the Penal Code, anyone found guilty of criminal defamation can be jailed for up to two years, with or without a fine.

Sum wasn't the only individual questioned on Nov. 26 however -- Terry Xu, the Chief Editor of TOC was also brought in for a second round of questioning by the police.

TOC has since decided to continue operations while investigations are still ongoing.

Top image collage photo by Koh Wee Sain via Google Maps and screenshot from TOC