Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Oct 14, 2009. My telephone conversation with the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal Secretariat

Last modified: Oct 15, 2009: Yogeswari's name is ascertained as Yogeswari d/o N Vadivellu. Recall earlier she denied she had any other name other than Yogeswari. Her correct EMail is yogeswari_n_vadivellu@supcourt.gov.sg and not support.gov.sg. My mistake.

As for Audrey Lim, the Assistant Registrar, Chopard refers to, her name is Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng. Recall, when I asked Chopard for this woman's full name, she said she did not know, and that no one in her office knew her full name! This fear of revealing their true identities seems a common trait among Singaporeans who work in Lee Kuan Yew's government.


Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since I received no directions on how to proceed with defending myself in these disciplinary proceedings, I telephoned the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal Secretariat, the organization that had written to me. I called at about 7.15pm, California Time from my office, in Fremont, 15 miles from San Francisco.

Gopalan Nair: This is Gopalan Nair. What is your name please?

Yogeswari: This is the Yoges.

Gopalan Nair: Is that your full name?

Yogeswari: No my full name is Y-o-g-e-s-w-a-r-i (spells it)

Gopalan Nair: Is that your first name? Do you have another name? Can I have your full name?

Yogeswari: I have only one name!

Gopalan Nair: What is your job title?

Yogeswari: I am an Operations Support Officer.

Gopalan Nair: What is that? Are you a clerk?

Yogeswari: Yes. Hold a minute please.

(She keeps me on hold for some time. In the background I can hear some agitation. She appeared in a hurry not to speak anymore to me. I guess it is the fear that blankets a society such as Singapore. I guess her designation of Operations Support Officer is none other than a junior general clerk who does simple tasks in the office under instruction)

Angela Chopard: Hello what can I do for you? My name is Angela Chopard. I am in charge of collating documents, I am the head of this department, I collate the documents and send them to the parties, and my job title is Head of Disciplinary Tribunals.

(Even though she had a foreign name, she was very much a local Singaporean from the way she spoke English, the Singaporean singsong cross between Hokkien Chinese singsong and English)

Gopalan Nair: All the papers sent to me were from Audrey Lim. Who is Audrey Lim? She signs her name in the letters as "Ms Audrey Lim, Secretary, Disciplinary Tribunal".

Angela Chopard: She is the Deputy Registrar of the Singapore Supreme Court. The first lot of documents is sent by the Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court. Audrey Lim is my boss.

Gopalan Nair: Wait a minute. I thought that you said you are the head of your department. Now you say you have a boss? I don't understand.

Angela Chopard: Yes I am the head of department. But I take orders from Audrey Lim. Could you send me an Email instead? I will give you my Email.

Gopalan Nair: It is necessary for me to speak to you now. Please can I continue?

Angela Chopard: Yes

Gopalan Nair: Again, I am confused by whom I should be speaking to. Should I be speaking to your boss Audrey Lim or to you since you say that you take instructions from her?

Angela Chopard: Mailing the documents will be by me.

Gopalan Nair: This person, Audrey Lim. Does she have a full name? Chinese people, who take on a Western first name like Tony Tan, usually have other names such as Tony Tan Tong Wong. Does Audrey Lim have a full name and if so what is it?

Angela Chopard: I don't know her full name. Everyone calls her by that name. In all the documents there is only that name.

Gopalan Nair: Do you read my blog Singapore Dissident. Are you aware that I post matters relating to this matter in my blog?

Angela Chopard: No I have never read your blog. I am not conversant with computers and things like blogs. I have not read anything.

Gopalan Nair: Does your office read my blog? I have posted 2 letters to you in my blog and mailed them to you. Are you aware?

Angela Chopard: No I am not aware. I have not received your letters.

Gopalan Nair: Are you aware that the Singapore government and the Singapore Attorney Generals Chambers read my blog carefully. For example, they have charged me with insulting Judith Prakash in my blog which I wrote after I returned to California?

Angela Chopard: I am not aware if they read your blog.

Gopalan Nair: About why the documents are signed by Audrey Lim while Chopard is the head of department

Angela Chopard: These letters to you were generated by me but signed by Audrey Lim

Gopalan Nair: Where is Audrey Lim's office?

Angela Chopard: Upstairs!

Gopalan Nair: What is your Email?

Angela Chopard: My Email is angela_chopard@supcourt.gov.sg. Email of Yogeswari is yogeswari_n_vadivellu@supcourt.gov.sg.

(It appears Yogeswari is actually Yogeswari Vadivellu or something of the sort. She must have been afraid to reveal her true name. This happens very often in Singapore)

Gopalan Nair: Can I speak to Audrey Lim?

Angela Chopard: Can I check if she is around? (She leaves, and returns a while later) Audrey Lim is now attending a hearing. But let me check (leaves again). Returns and says: You can send Emails to me and not Audrey Lim. I received this instruction to relay to you.

Gopalan Nair: But I though you said Audrey Lim was at a hearing? Who gave you this instruction?

Angela Chopard: It was my colleague. We co-operate with each other about these things. I don't know everything. Sometimes my colleagues help me.

(From this it appears to me that Audrey Lim was not at a hearing but upstairs and told Chopard to ask me to Email to her)

Gopalan Nair: What is the name of the colleague who gave you this instruction?

Angela Chopard: Sorry, I cannot reveal the name.

Gopalan Nair: Did you expect me to have the Singapore statutes and rules relating to disciplinary proceedings in California? Did it not occur to you that you should let me have the necessary legislation on how to defend these charges?

Angela Chopard: I did not think of your not being in Singapore. In Singapore when these are sent out to Singaporean lawyers, no instructions are sent. They are expected to know what to do. (She admits that she overlooked the need to send me the relevant legislation).

Angela Chopard promises that she will send the necessary legislation to me. I told her that I need an extension of time to look at the legislation etc before responding. She says the time limitation is 14 days to respond. I said I could not since I don't have the legislation nor the rules nor other regulations and will not be able to respond until I have these. I need an extension of time. She says extensions are decided by tribunal head Toh Kian Sing. She asked me to put all my questions and requests to her in emails and she will respond. She promised to send the legislation. She cannot guarantee that any extension will be given as it is up to Toh Kian Sing.

I told her that I am making a request for an extension of time until I have had time to read the documents I requested and then a reasonable time thereafter to respond.

Telephone call concluded 7.45pm California time. Near San Francisco.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

First world country behave like that one meh??!

Sounds like some African country you're dealing with!!

Anonymous said...

Oct 15, 2009
More lawyers now
Law Society also notes fall in number of firms, more women in its ranks
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

AFTER several years of seeing its numbers stagnate, the legal profession is back on the growth path again.

Figures from the Law Society's annual report published yesterday show there were 3,697 practising lawyers as of August this year - 280 more than in August 2007 and the highest number in five years.

But the growth in numbers is not matched by a rise in the number of firms. Instead, there are fewer firms around now - 781, compared to 800 five years ago.

A closer look at the Law Society figures shows that the number of medium-sized (at least six lawyers) and large firms (more than 30 lawyers) has either remained stable or steadily increased.

It is the number of small firms (those with five or fewer lawyers) that has shrunk, from 711 in 2005 to 685 today.

Lawyer Amolat Singh, managing partner of his own firm, said that more small firms were merging to cut costs and save on overheads.

Anonymous said...

This is a whole lot of rubbish from the Law Society & the Courts of Singapore. This is not even a first world nation to begin with so you can't expect much.

At this point, they're playing ping pong with you, what I really mean is that they're going to push you around until you have insufficient time to defend all the charges against you.

Once that happens, they will defame you by stating that you have no respect for the Law, etc, even though you're a practicing lawyer, all this would be done just to show the Singapore public as well as the world how 'bad' you are.

Do your best Gopalan, truth will always triumph!!!

Jack Brombo said...

Coming to Singapore - think again
Thursday, October 15, 2009 3:45 PM
"jack brombo"
To: "Gopalan Nair"


Hi Gopalan / 15 Oct 2009

Refer to your email on taking on Singapore Govt.
BEWARE OF THEM

First and foremost - as you are a USA citizen , then why are you succumbing to their charges.They do not have any legal jurisdiction.Your articles are written outside Singapore. Though internet is accessible in Singapore, it is read by the readers who have made a choice to read them. You have not forced them into their homes (arena). Unlike foreign newspapers which were circulated in singapore, and as such were found defamatory by Sin govt laws, then naturally, they are charged in Singapore and answerable to defend those charges , alternatively they would be found guilty for failure to reply. By your attendance to the hearing, it appears that future bloggers would be treated the same. Do not be surprised if a new law against blogger is in the pipeline. Think again before stepping into Lee kuan Yew kingdom . His deviant sycophants are drooling with bloody saliva for return of Gopalan Nair. Pls note you are the only active and regular blogger against LKY presently. There is no Francis Seow or Tan Wah Piow or Tang Liang Howe - they are oblivious to our sufferings for personal liberties in Singapore. The fearless and tireless speaker of personal liberty in Singapore , was JBJ,who sadly demised slightly a year ago in his sleep. There was silence . Now no more - because Gopalan Nair is around. Wonder how LKY would pass away - believe me in pain !!!


If you must, then read on.
Tell Law " buggers' to hold a trial by eg youtube since your mode of communication was and is through internet. So why should you spent your precious dollar by coming to Sin.The whole system is against you. It is like St Michael going to hell with a view to change it to heaven like.

Suggest the following letter of undertakings from law society -
-you request for presence of american embassy repret even though you are defending yourself.
-the repret should be allowed to record or take notes of proceeding without restrictions and to circulate in newspapers / internet without being liable for defamtion.
- Do include the International Bar repret. to be present in the hearing.
-there must be an expressing undertaking by the govt ot police or any enforcement authority not to arrest you or restrict your movement of while in singapore and to return safely to USA immediately or therafter a day or two after the hearing.
-all trips to and fro singapore at Govt expense.

Otherwise, I fear you will fall into LKY trap and be sentenced again for a long time , best guess SIX MONTHS at least , and spent time IN CELLS WITH LKY HATCHED PRISONERS WHO WILL GIVE YOU A HARD TIME EVEN FOR SIX MONTHS.

Finally Happy Deepavali to you and your loved ones. May showers of Blessings , Prosperity and Good Health remain with you and your loved ones , and perpetually continue the Good work you have enthusiatically and regulary pursued without iota of fear against LKY and his '" mouthpiece Millionaire Minsiters and families"

Public Holday on Sat 17 Oct - celebration.

You may post it in full or amended as you see fit, for your readers to read and comment.

Take care .
Regards/ Sept 5

Gopalan Nair said...

Hello Jack Brombo,
On your point of why I bother, I was admitted as a Singapore lawyer in 1981, practiced there until 1991when I left Singapore. I now practice law in California. Even though I never renewed my law practicing certificate in Singapore, I am still a Singapore lawyer and they are trying to take it away.

Like you say, I need not bother and let them do the inevitable and strike me off the Singapore Bar. On the other hand, I can challenge them, and through this expose their misuse of the law. Hopefully the international community will be watching and see another instance of their misusing the law. This way, I will mamange to discredit the Singapore Lee Kuan Yew family and the Singapore Legal System, thereby weaken this dictatorial government.

I have got a job here to do, as you can see, exposing this charade.

That is why I do this. Thanks for your concern.

Anonymous said...

Click here to see photos of the people involved:

http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/data/doc/ManagePage/44/AnnualRpt2007/stafforg.html

mycroft said...

Oh how nice, thanks to anon's helpful link we can now put some faces to names in this unfolding comedy.

Under Statistics & Learning Unit, EFS & Disciplinary Committee, we have both the shy retiring clerk, Ms Yogeswari d/o N. Vadivellu and the affable computer-agnostic, Ms Angela Chopard who appears to be a middle-aged Eurasian lady.

And upstairs in the very first picture, we see a prim-looking and rather bashful Senior Assistant Registrar, Ms Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng. Now you know her full name Gopalan but she still won't talk to you directly. Cleverly, she'll use Angela Chopard as a shield when dealing with the unpredictable, police-car-bashing hoodlum, Nair. If the whole affair blows up in a spectacularly embarrassing way and there's a 'search for the guilty, punish the innocent' witch hunt, Audrey will be well clear of the fallout.

If you look under THE SUPREME COURT BENCH you'll see portraits of all the kangaroo judges who would love to have your guts for garters. They're all grinning like apes and who wouldn't with those multi-million dollar salaries, eh? There's a picture of your favourite judge Ms Belinda 'Prostitute' Ang too; she appears to be wearing a fetching Afro hairstyle. Cool.

Nair vs. The Singapore Law Society has all the makings of a first-class Singapore farce. I have to say that your verbatim, U-R-there style of writing painted the protagonists beautifully. I can hardly wait to read the next hilarious episode.

Watch out though Gopalan, it's three girls against one guy and you know how sneaky and ruthless some women can be. Throw DPP Walter 'Fatty' Woon into the mix and it could get very tasty indeed.