"In mitigation, Lim Song Huat said he had not specifically targeted the PAP poster, but could not reach the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) poster that was above it."

Folks, there's a reason why you engage lawyers to do your mitigation plea.

But there's also a question of proportionality - hypothetically, if he had engaged lawyers for $800, and was fined $500 after mitigation, that would lead to less money in his pocket than the present situation.

On the other hand, the offence does provide for a potential jail term of up to one year, and since this was the very first prosecution, there was less certainty as to the sentence that would be passed. So consider also the value of engaging lawyers to reduce the likelihood of jail time.

Protip: before formally engaging lawyers to represent you, ask for a realistic assessment of the likely outcome, and add costs to that consideration. But don't be surprised if lawyers charge for that realistic assessment - you are paying for their experience, professional judgment, and time spent to look into the specific issue!