Ladies and Gentlemen,
On April 30th 2010, I received an Email from the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal informing me of the postponement of the hearing on the same date in Singapore which I was supposed to attend, to the new date May 5, 2010 at 9.30am.
If this was meant to help me attend the hearing in Singapore, not forgetting I live in California USA, it hardly does me any good.
The Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal by their half hearted actions are merely confirming their intention not to give me any chance to defend myself in these proceedings. I must say, these silly actions are not fooling anyone.
Let me clarify the impossible situation that I am so far in relation to these disciplinary proceedings. As far back as last year, I was informed of the dates for filing documents and the trial dates in Singapore for this case which has been fixed from May 17, 2010 to May 21, 2010. I was not informed of any other dates.
During this entire period from last year till present, I have written numerous Emails to the Tribunal and the Immigration Department Singapore for certain conditions to be satisfied for my presence in Singapore for the trial dates:
1. Permission to enter Singapore as I have been prohibited from entering the country.
2. As I was jailed in Singapore for writing a blog critical of a Singapore judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean in her judgement in the 2008 Dr. Chee Soon Juan case, I am naturally concerned for my safety if I entered Singapore.
This is because almost every blog that I had written since my return to the US in Nov 2008, about the dishonesty of Singapore judges and the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew would be likely considered even more critical, and according to the Singapore legal system, criminal.
Since engaging in such criticism in Singapore is considered "insults" and therefore criminal offenses as demonstrated by my arrest and imprisonment in 2008, it would seem almost certain that I would be arrested again if I entered the island.
In 2008 in Singapore, I had pleaded not guilty to "insulting" Singapore judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean, which resulted in an 11 day trial, in which I was found guilty and sentenced to serve 3 months in Singapore's Queenstown Jail. Just before I was due to be released, around November 10th 2008, the police visited me in jail and charged me with new contempt of court charges in respect of statements I had uttered in court at an earlier trial.
Although I would have been found innocent in any other democracy upholding the rule of law, I of course knew I had no chance in Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew's version of legal proceedings.
Since conviction and a lengthening of my jail term was a forgone conclusion if I pleaded not guilty to these last minute contempt charges, I pleaded guilty, confessed, apologised and gave an undertaking not to repeat such criticism; in return for which I was not given any more prison time, thereby enabling me to leave Singapore upon my release.
Of course I had no intention of keeping my promise to this fascist government the moment I was outside Singapore.
After I returned to the US on or about the 29th of November 2008, I immediately withdrew any apologies given to the Singapore judge in my blog and re-posted the 2 blog posts that the judge had ordered to remove.
By doing this, I had of course re-offended the Singapore courts and therefore became liable to be again arrested and sent to jail for contempt if I ever returned to Singapore.
In the light of the foregoing, surely my stepping into Singapore is a very dangerous proposition.
Naturally therefore I have been repeatedly writing to the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal and the Singapore Immigration for an assurance that I will not be arrested and sent to jail if I entered Singapore to defend myself at my trial on May 17, 2010
Up till now the Disciplinary Tribunal and the Singapore Immigration have totally ignored my requests for an assurance of safe passage in and out of Singapore, while the Tribunal's stand is that I should not bother them anymore about this. Instead of writing to them, they have asked asked me to contact any other organization responsible for this, but they themselves have not clarified who these authorities are, or to whom I should be writing.
In other words both the Tribunal or the Singapore Law Society have not shown any interest in enabling me to actually come to Singapore to defend myself there. Even though I live in Fremont California and the circumstances about my case is not the usual disciplinary case that comes before them, it appears as if they are only concerned about telling me the trial dates in Singapore and nothing more!
As it stands, even regardless of whether I am given permission to enter Singapore, it would still be completely unwise for me to ever enter Singapore without the assurance that I will not be re-arrested, if I did.
If the Singapore Tribunal really wanted to give me a fair chance to defend, the first thing they should do is to give me an assurance that I will not be arrested for anything I wrote in my blog either before or after my return to the US and that they will not charge me for withdrawing my apology to the Singapore judge and re-posting the blogs in question.
By not doing this, the Singapore Tribunal is merely trying to pretend that they are going through the procedures of these proceedings but in actual fact, they are either afraid to face me in court or because they find themselves in a quandary having unjustly charged and jailed me in the past, and now the need to back track on their own decisions, by giving the assurances.
3. On April 19, 2010, for the first time, I received an Email from the Singapore Tribunal telling me that there is a court hearing in Singapore on the 30th of April 2010 (10 days away) which I am supposed to attend in this case.
This new date was a complete surprise. This date was never made known to me in the past. 10 days is obviously not enough to make arrangements and fly to Singapore for the case. Furthermore, as of that time, I had no permission to enter Singapore anyway.
Suddenly 2 days before the April 30th 2010 hearing date, another surprise. I receive an email from the Singapore Immigration telling me for the first time that if I wanted to travel to Singapore I should apply for a visa and they send me a visa form as an email attachment.
In this Email Singapore Immigration claim that as far back as Dec 15, 2010, they had informed me in an Email of the need to apply for a visa.
However this Email which they claim they sent, I never received. Perhaps it had gone to my spam folder or something else may have happened. I never received any letter or fax intimating me of this.
Since last year up till now, not having received any news about permission to travel to Singapore I had sent numerous Emails and letters both to them and to the Singapore Tribunal on this issue but neither the Singapore Tribunal nor the Immigration Department, ever even once tell me anything of this mysterious Email of Dec 15, 2010 which the Singapore Immigration now claims to have sent.
Does this not seem rather fishy to you? Why wait to tell me this 2 days before the hearing date of April 30, 2010? Why not tell me of the hearing date of April 30th 2010 and the visa requirements when we first started with this case last year?
This is what I would want to tell this Singapore Tribunal.
You are looking very silly in all this.
And you are not fooling anyone.
If your intention is really to allow me to defend these proceedings, then you should go about it honestly.
As you are the Tribunal having charge of these proceedings, it is your duty to see to it that I am given a meaningful and realistic chance to represent myself.
And for me to do that, you have to do the following:
1. Postponing the case from April 30th 2010 to May the 5th 2010 is not doing me any good while I am in Fremont California and you are in Singapore island. You should continue this hearing date to a reasonable time ahead, such as another 30 days hence.
2. You must see to it that I am given an assurance that I will not be arrested and sent to jail if I entered Singapore.
3. You must give me the permission to enter the island.
4. I have also asked for my travel expenses to be paid, since these are proceedings commenced by you and you have an interest to see to it that I am not prejudiced.
I suggest you look at these things I have mentioned very carefully, as this is being published in this blog for the world to read for posterity and which would make your attempts to become the legal hub of South East Asia even more impossible. By this you are not looking like the legal hub of South East Asia. You are looking more like it's clown.
Since the Singapore Tribunal have completely ignored my request for an assurance that I will not be re-arrested if I entered Singapore for the contents of these blogs and my actions both in the US and in Singapore, I am writing the following Email to the Singapore Attorney General asking this.
Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 6:57 AM
From: "Gopalan Nair"
Add sender to Contacts
To: agc@agc.gov.sg
Cc: wendy_aw@ica.gov.sg, angela_chopard@supcourt.gov.sg, yogeswari_n_vadivellu@supcourt.gov.sg, peterlow@cnplaw.com
To Singapore Attorney General,
As you are aware the Singaporean Law Society have commenced disciplinary proceedings against me for among other things, writing a blog critical of one of your judges Belinda Ang Saw Ean.
Since my return to the US in November of 2008, I have written numerous blogs in my blog Singapore Dissident critical of several of your judges and your government headed by the Singapore dictator Lee Kuan Yew. I have also deliberately re-posted a few blog posts which your judge Leslie Chew had ordered removed and also withdrawn all apologies that I had made to one of your judges. All this I did deliberately and believing my actions to be justified and correct both under law and fact.
I want defend myself at my trial and these court hearings in Singapore but naturally consider it unwise to enter Singapore fearing re-arrest under your peculiar laws intolerant of dissent, resultant on my actions aforesaid which clearly are under your laws criminal.
Please let me know whether you will guarantee my safe passage into Singapore, while within Singapore and safe passage out of Singapore; that I will not be arrested by your police and convicted in your courts, for anything I did either before and after I last left Singapore.
Readers of this blog are requested to contact the Attorney General on this matter, his telephone number is 65 6336 1411 and the fax number is 65 6332 5984; Email, agc@agc.gov.sg
It would be interesting to see what this Singaporean Attorney General would have to say to this.
Please note that this Email is being posted on my blog Singapore Dissident.
Sincerely
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
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.
6 comments:
The ones who have been insulting Singapore are their own leadership!
beware of clikjacking while trying to post comment in this blog it is trying to steal your email information.
I bet it's another fascist pig doing.
Childish bunch of snob!
what a disgust.
Renaldi
LKY's Law Society lackeys are now in a quandry and unsure of which way to turn to avoid treading on some highly vindictive political toes. I'll bet they regret ever kicking off this farce. I don't doubt that the Society was pressured into it and not a single one of the Disciplinary Committee members is willing to stick his/her neck out to declare that Gopalan Nair must be allowed due process and justice must be seen to be done. So much for the craven guardians of the rule of law.
It's another disgraceful travesty of justice to add to a shamefully long history of trumped-up charges against political foes. Then again we all know what the inevitable verdict is going to be here, don't we? It's fascinating to read a blow-by-blow account of the workings of kangaroo justice as events occur though, so do keep up the momentum, Gopalan!
Just come back. Singapore has had many wonderful changes and additions since your last visit... Beautiful gambling resorts and the Sentosa flyer... Plus, an "Applebees" just opened in Orchard. Its just like the US..
Keep the pressure up Mr Nair. You only win admiration for it.
Dear Gopalan,
Do keep us informed of the going-on with your trial.
I am sure those Singapore people are up to no good.
You cannot return to low profile living again, otherwise, you may end up like Tang Liang Hong where Lee Kuan Yew agents set fire to his house in Melbourne Australia.
visit www.tangtalk.com to see how dirty they are to destroy all the capable lawyers we have. No wonder we left only 3000 lawyers and is still shrinking. Very soon they have to import lawyers from foreign countries. They are destroying our own country because there are no opposition to counter check on their wrong doing. And also our citizens are so daft that they accept wrong people blindly. Sad for the small country like this. They are digging their own graveyards. Unless he's gone. Nothing can be changed
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