Conspiracy Theory 7: Fees For Online ST

From http://subst.asia1.com.sg/sub/Registration.jsp:

*Select your subscription package Buy six-month subscription for S$36 ($6 a month) Buy 12-month subscription for S$60 ($5 a month) We accept only Visa and MasterCard for subscriptions bought online. For payment using other credit cards, money order, cheque or cash, please call (65) 6388 3838 during office hours or email stics@sph.com.sg *If you are not a print subscriber but would like an online-only subscription, pick your package: Buy one-month subscription for S$15 Buy six-month subscription for S$72 ($12 a month) Buy 12-month subscription for S$120 ($10 a month) We accept only Visa and MasterCard for subscriptions bought online. For payment using other credit cards, money order, cheque or cash, please call (65) 6388 3838 during office hours or email stics@sph.com.sg

Singapore A government affiliate operates all four free television stations and 10 of some 20 radio stations. Of the independent radios, only the BBC is free of government control. Foreign broadcasts are available. Yet the government in the past has restricted distribution of Time, Far Eastern Economic Review, the Economist and other publications. The home ministry can scan some 200,000 computers, presumably to track hackers. Movies, television, video, music, and the Internet are subject to censorship.

1 Denmark 0,50 - Finland 0,50 - Iceland 0,50 - Ireland 0,50 - Netherlands 0,50 - Norway 0,50 - Slovakia 0,50 - Switzerland 0,50 9 New Zealand 0,67 10 Latvia 1,00 ............................... 144 Belarus 54,10 145 Djibouti 55,00 146 Bhutan 55,83 147 Singapore 57,00 148 Iraq 58,50 149 Côte d'Ivoire 60,38 150 Pakistan 61,75 151 Bangladesh 62,50 152 Tunisia 62,67 153 Laos 64,33 154 Libya 65,00 155 Syria 67,50 155 Zimbabwe 67,50 157 Maldives 69,17 158 Iran 78,30 159 Saudi Arabia 79,17 160 Nepal 84,00 161 Vietnam 86,88 162 China 92,33 163 Eritrea 93,25 164 Turkmenistan 99,83 165 Burma 103,63 166 Cuba 106,83 167 North Korea 107,50 Since The Straits Times is probably a third-rated newspaper, why do they charge a fee for reading their online articles?
From: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11715

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT: 23 POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT: 22 ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT: 19 TOTAL SCORE: 64 (out of 100) (North Korea's score: 98)

Media in Singapore remain tightly regulated by the government. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and expression but also permits restrictions on these rights. Legal constraints on the press include strict censorship laws; the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act, which allows authorities to restrict the circulation of any foreign periodical for news coverage that allegedly interferes in domestic politics; and the Internal Security Act (ISA). Although not used against the press in recent years, the ISA gives the government broadly defined powers to restrict publications that incite violence, arouse racial or religious tension, or threaten national interests, national security, or public order. The vast majority of print and broadcast media outlets, as well as Internet service providers and cable television services, are either owned or controlled by the state or by companies with close ties to the ruling party. For example, the government is legally mandated to approve the owners of key management shares in the privately held Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which owns all general-circulation newspapers. Faced with the influence of owners over editorial content as well as the government’s successful record of suing critics under harsh criminal defamation laws, journalists sometimes refrain from publishing stories about alleged government corruption and nepotism or the supposed compliance of the judiciary, or otherwise practice self-censorship. A number of independent Internet newsgroups provide a source of unfiltered news and opinion. However, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that new regulations passed in November would empower authorities to monitor the Internet more aggressively. International newspapers and magazines are available, although authorities have at times banned or censored foreign publications that carried articles the government found offensive. The circulations of some Western-owned publications, such as the Asian Wall Street Journal, are “gazetted,” or limited.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/pfs2004/pfs2004.pdf