"On December 10, 1998, "Siglo" reporter Carlos Singares was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment for defamation for a 1993 article he had written about former president Ernesto Pérez Balladares, accusing him of helping to move money out of Panama for former military ruler Omar Torrijos.In May 2000, Attorney General José Antonio Sossa attempted to jail Singares for alleging that he had pressured journalists, but reversed himself after criticism by President Mireya Moscoso; the following month, Sossa did jail Singares for eight days without trial for reporting in an article that Sossa had visited underage prostitutes.