SINGAPORE - An elderly man was charged in court on Thursday with six counts of vandalism, apparently in support of blogger Roy Ngerng.

For more than an hour on the afternoon of May 22, or last Thursday, Loh Thiam Hock, 71, allegedly wrote phrases such as "We support CPF Blogger" and "Return our CPF Money" with a black marker on the advertisement boards of six bus stops. The bus stops are along Clemenceau Avenue, River Valley Road and Hill Street.

These appeared to be messages backing Mr Ngerng, who in a May 15 blog post alleged that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had misappropriated CPF savings. PM Lee commenced legal proceedings on a defamation suit against the blogger on Thursday. He did this in a letter sent by his lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.

The bespectacled man was remanded to the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation, and will next appear in court on June 12. He could be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $2,000 for each of the charges, if convicted. However, as Loh is above 50, he will not be caned if convicted.