Singapore ( CNN ) -- A Singapore court on Friday rejected an appeal by a British author against a conviction for contempt of court over a book that criticized the justice system . Author Alan Shadrake was put on trial by the government of Singapore for his book on the death penalty in Singapore . Police arrested him in July , a day after he released his book `` Once A Jolly Hangman '' in Singapore . Statements in his book criticized Singapore 's judicial system , leading to the contempt of court charge , according to the attorney general . His book asserts that Singapore 's death penalty is applied unfairly to the poor and spares those with money and political connections . Singapore 's court of appeal concluded that the book contained statements that undermined the integrity of the judicial system . Those statements `` scandalize the core of the mission and function of the judiciary . More than that their cumulative effect reveals a marshaling of a series of fabrications , distortions and false imputations in relation to the Courts of Singapore , '' the appeals judge said in a ruling . Shadrake was sentenced to six weeks in jail and a S $ 20,000 fine ( U.S. $ 16,000 ) , a penalty his lawyer calls the `` harshest ever received in a contempt of court case '' in Singapore . The author had not expected his appeal to be successful , said his attorney M. Ravi , a well-known Singaporean human rights lawyer . `` He will continue to fight against the injustices in the way the death penalty is administered in Singapore , '' Ravi said . `` I 'm disappointed with the judgement because ... Singaporeans should be allowed to judge the book themselves and not be told how to look at the book . Ravi said Singapore should have looked at allegations in the book as an opportunity for reform .
Author Alan Shadrake writes a book criticizing the justice system in Singapore . The criticism leads to the contempt of court charge . Comment: