Letter from a reader on Lee Kuan Yew's corruption, Oxley Rise and Cavanagh Road properties

Gopalan Nair's Note: Oxley Rise is a street in Singapore where Lee Kuan Yew lives. Cavanagh Road is where his son lives in the Palace. The Palace is known as the Istana. Beside both the father's house and the son's Palace, there are high rise buildings, higher than the father's house and the son's palace. It would be easy for a marksman assassin to kill both father and son with a high powered rifle fitted with telescopic lens from the higher floors of the buildings. Fearing for their lives, both father and son evicted the lawful owners of these properties and sold them to his cronies or kept them themselves.

According to the writer this is not only a violation of the Land Acquisition Act, it is also theft of the properties of the rightful owners and unjust enrichment.

In Singapore both father and son are above the law and they can do willy nilly anything they want.

LAND ACQUISITION ACT Thursday, September 17, 2009 1:46 PM
17 Sept 09

Dear Gopalan

Below extract taken from WP website and extract of article was dated June 1976. I believe it was initially printed in the WP newspaper , Hammer.

A clear example of the Government using the law for a purpose not intended i.e. abuse of the law, was the acquisition by this Government of the properties in Oxley Road some years ago and lately last year of the properties in Cavenagh Road known as Town Apartments.

The properties were acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act which empower the President to acquire any land needed for a public purpose or for any work which is for the public benefit or where it is needed, and here it must mean needed for public use, for any residential, commercial or industrial purpose.

The properties in question were acquired under this act only to be sold to selected buyers. This was flagrant abuse of the law by the Government.

To add insult to injury, the owners of the properties were not paid the market prices but were paid compensations applicable to acquisitions made under the Land Acquisition Act which are well below market prices.

There is nothing, however, to prevent the Government from selling the acquired properties to the selected buyers at market prices so that in all likelihood the Government has made a handsome profit.

We do not know because like much else in Singapore today, the public were not told the prices at which the properties were re-sold by the Government. The acquisitions therefore are not only unlawful but also unethical.

The fact that the properties had to be acquired for the security of the Prime Minister is no excuse. In any democratic society the acquisitions would have been a public scandal.

My comment - flagrant abuse of land law since 1975 . It explains why LKY is able to live so long - when all mythical threats to his life is removed.

Have a good day

Regards

Sept 5