Singapore. The New Zealander who got away

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore state controlled newspaper Straits Times online edition of Jan 2, 2012 has the story, "Suntec City brawl: NZ fugitive may end up on Interpol List". It's about last week's case of 3 men, one New Zealander, Robert Stephen Dalberg, 31, the subject of the story, an Australian and an Englishman, who gave 2 taxi drivers a real beating, what for I do not know, crashed their taxis, broke some heads and some noses and were arrested.

For some inexplicable reason, they not only let Dalberg go, they even returned his passport, which was when he took the fastest ride he could to the island's airport (I understand he broke all existing speed records)and 4 hours later was safely in his home in New Zealand from where he has shown his middle finger, and rightly so, to Lee Kuan Yew and his silly island, where you are jailed for chewing gum and get whacked on your backside (weird people indeed) for smoking a joint.

This state controlled propaganda sheet, Lee Kuan Yew's Straits Times is trying to tell us that even though they themselves facilitated his disappearance by letting him go and handing him his passport, with a wink and a nod, they are trying to get him back now through Interpol! I suppose if I was Interpol the question I would be asking is, why in Heavens did you give him his passport back then?

You recall in 2008, I was arrested in Singapore just for writing a blog which criticized Lee's judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for using her judicial office to punish Chee Soon Juan, a Lee Kuan Yew critic, by fining him several hundreds of thousands of dollars, bankrupting him and sending him to jail. And just for writing a blog, mind you I did not go around breaking heads and noses and crashing taxis, my passport was confiscated and I was forced to remain in Singapore for 5 long months and finally sent to jail. The court informed me that I was a flight risk which required their confiscating my passport. Why was not Dalberg, a New Zealander, a flight risk who had just broken some heads and noses and crash a few taxis! Why was my passport held, just for writing a blog, but not his?

I tell you why my passport was held and his was not. I am a Lee Kuan Yew critic and a perennial thorn on his side, and their hope was that if I was sufficiently punished, I would become afraid and would never criticize them again. I think that was where they got it terribly wrong.

And this another perfect example of Singapore legal system selectively using the law; where some are treated leniently and others harshly. In other words you abuse the law as and when you please when the situation calls for it. For the same offense, political opponents and critics are treated one way, important people and government cronies are treated another, and ordinary people are treated yet another way.

I suppose this is another face of the famous Singapore model which goes something like this "Claim you have human rights but deny it anyway, claim you have rule of law but abuse it anyway, claim you have a free press but control it anyway". I suppose in this case it goes like this "Claim you want Dalberg back but allow him to leave anyway".

I am not sure if Dalberg is reading this blog, but if he is, please contact me and I will give you all the help you need. I have good news for Dalberg. Singapore will not succeed in extraditing him, never, I promise you that. In fact criminals all over the world take note. If you commit a crime in Singapore and manage to leave the island, you are one lucky person because Singapore will never manage to extradite anyone. No self respecting country would force any of it's citizens to submit to a country such as this.

In order to extradite anyone, Singapore has to show it has the rule of law. This is where it fails. All over the world, Singapore is known as one country that uses the law for it's political ends.

Lee Kuan Yew's judges such as Belinda Ang Saw Ean routinely use the law as a tool to jail and bankrupt it's citizens who pose a political threat to Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew. It's laws and courts favor the rich and connected wile handing out harsh punishments to ordinary Singaporeans.

Singapore permits cruel and unusual punishments prohibited the world over such as beatings (canings) and hangings even for minor offenses. Almost a quarter of Singapore citizens walk around permanently crippled both physically and mentally as a result of enduring the beatings and torture.

All in all for extradition, Singapore will have to show that it's laws comport with internationally accepted norms of civilized behaviour which it cannot do.
Internationally Singapore is a pariah state as far it's laws stand. Therefore no civilized country in the world, of which New Zealand is one, would ever submit any of it's citizens to such brutality shamelessly shown there.

My point is proven just last year in a well publicised case, when Silviu Ionescu, the Romanian diplomat, killed one pedestrian and seriously injured 2 others while driving drunk.

Today he lives safely in Bucaresti, Romania and sticking out his tongue to Singapore and it's goons.

Yes, in his case they did try very hard to have him extradited to Singapore but failed. I understand Ionescu had a very easy time convincing the courts in Romania that Singapore is a pariah state as far as it's laws are concerned and that he would never have a fair trial in Singapore.

In fact Ionescu called me last year as he was reading my blog posts and thanked me for the help it provided in his case.

I am quite sure Dalhberg will never be extradited to Singapore. Neither would he be extradited to North Korea or Burma or Communist China if any of these countries ever wanted him. Countries like these, like Singapore, are known for their brutality shown to their citizens, and their lack of the rule of law.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
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Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

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