SINGAPORE--A California-based blogger who allegedly accused a judge of "prostituting herself" has been arrested and charged in Singapore, his lawyer and a court document said Monday.

Gopalan Nair, a former Singapore lawyer who is now a US citizen, was arrested in the city-state Saturday and charged Monday with insulting a public servant, his lawyer Chia Ti Lik told AFP.

Nair, 58, was later remanded in custody for one more week as the authorities said they needed to investigate further, Chia told reporters.
He is due back in court next Monday.

"We can confirm that Gopalan Nair, a US citizen, was arrested on May 31," a US embassy spokesman said, adding that "we are monitoring the case closely."

According to a court document, Nair is charged with insulting Justice Belinda Ang Saw Ean last Thursday by sending an e-mail which said she "was throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders".

Nair's lawyer Chia said the comments essentially repeated those Nair made in a recent blog about a defamation case filed by Singapore's leaders against an opposition party and its members.

In the blog, Nair strongly criticized a three-day legal hearing last week at which Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, testified.

In another post on his blog Saturday, Nair taunted authorities, saying he was in Singapore at a particular hotel, and also gave his phone number.

"I am now within your jurisdiction... What are you going to do about it?" Nair wrote.

Nair is charged with insulting a public servant, which on conviction carries a maximum fine of S$5,000 (3,660 US) or one year in prison.