BY VEENA BHARWANI

ON THE surface, it seemed harmless - men distributing booklets to students outside the school.

But the principal of Shuqun Secondary, Mr Adolphus Tan, shut down the activity when he found that the booklets had religious content.

Overly cautious? Not at all, he said. 'It's better to play it safe for the well-being of students,' he added.

On last Tuesday morning, Mr Tan, 48, noticed two men distributing little books at the crossing outside the school gate.

When he realised that they were religious books, Mr Tan and his operations manager, Mr Henry Tay, asked them to leave. The duo did so immediately.

During assembly, Mr Tan asked the students who had received the booklets to pass them to him.

He then told the students that those who wished to get them back could do so with a written request from their parents the next day.

He said: 'I was very concerned that some of the parents would be upset that their child received religious materials just outside the school.'

He said he wanted the students to be aware of the materials they received.

'These kids are at an impressionable age and anything they read can influence them,' he said.

He added that he also wanted to be fair to all students.

'Shuqun Secondary is committed to respecting all races and religions and endeavours to provide a common space for all,' he said.

On Tuesday evening, as school ended, some parents attended a meeting with teachers.

He said the parents were happy that the school took immediate response and no parent has come forward to claim the books to date.

Two other principals told The New Paper that there is no particular protocol to follow when such a thing happens.

Madam Lee Eet Fong of Punggol Secondary, said: 'There is no particular set way of dealing with situations like this and I've never heard of anything like this before.'

While it's not against the law to distribute religious content in public places, lawyer Edwin Loo said that action could be taken if the content is deemed to be offensive to other people.

A couple were charged last year with distributing an evangelistic publication that cast Prophet Muhammad in a negative light. They face a total of four charges. Under the Sedition Act, the maximum penalty for

distributing any seditious publication is a $5,000 fine and/or a jail term of up to three years on each charge.

For possession of such materials, they can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months.

This article was first published in The New Paper.