Singaporean ends hunger strike in support of Malaysian Hindus

SINGAPORE, (AFP)

A Singaporean artist said Saturday he had ended a five-day hunger strike in support of Malaysian Hindu rights activists detained under a tough security law.

"I'm finished," Seelan Palay told AFP by phone from outside the Malaysian High Commission, where he had been fasting since Monday.

Palay, 23, said he planned the fast to last exactly five days - one day for each detained member from Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force.

The five are being held under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

They were detained after they enraged the government in November by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia, where the majority are ethnic Malay Muslims.

Police used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges to break up the street protest by at least 8,000 people, including Palay, a member of Singapore's ethnic Indian minority.