Ladies and Gentlemen,
With the looming General Elections on the horizon in the one party dictatorship of Singapore, let's look at the state of their opposition politicians. Not promising at all, sadly. It must be clear to a 10 year old boy that if you want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket, and that strangely is not what they want to do.
First of all, in the one party state with every single person in Parliament singing the Lee Kuan Yew tune, it really does not mean anything even to win a seat. What good is it, to win, and immediately thereafter be bankrupted by Lee Kuan Yew's Kangaroo courts and driven either into poverty, prison or exile, which we have seen so regularly seen in the past.
What Singaporean opposition politician politicians should know is this. You can never expect anyone to vote for you if you have no power, and in your case, you have none at all. You can be imprisoned at Lee Kuan Yew's whim, bankrupted at his whim and a multitude of other misfortunes can happen to you, if Lee desires it, and that, sad to say is the miserable case.
What you have to show Singaporeans is your determination to advance their rights and if denied, you willingness to take any action, short of violence, to demand it. Merely making speeches such as Kenneth Jeyaretnam of the Reform Party is doing is not going to get him anywhere. If I was a Singaporean, which I am not, I would not be voting for him because short of making speeches, there is nothing more he can do. If I was unjustly arrested and jailed, he can do nothing. If I was denied my right to speak freely, he can do nothing. If I was unjustly treated in any way at all, there is simply nothing he can do.
And what is worse, he may even not speak on your behalf since that may result in his own imprisonment!
Let us be honest. There is nothing these so called Singaporean opposition politicians can do for you because they themselves are terrified out of their wits as to what the strongman Lee Kuan Yew will do to them.
Their failure lies, not just in Lee Kuan Yew totally ignoring them in his one party Parliament, it lies in Singaporeans themselves looking at them as men and women lacking the gall to stand up to a tyrant. If you are afraid to stand up for me all the way, why should I want you as my leader. Leaders are men willing to face fire and high water for their people, and if you do not have it, you are simply no good to anyone.
Had I been a British opposition politician and was told some nonsense by the government that I was not allowed to speak in public without their consent, I would make sure that I would create such havoc, a public outcry tomorrow and huge street protests which will make sure the government sees the light. That is what makes a leader and that is why the people want him as one.
Dr. Chee Soon Juan had in the past stood his ground on his rights out of principle in his public protests and demonstrations. I admired him. I believe he understands that the right thing to do is to face tyranny head on, which he has done and is continuing to do, and for which he continues to pay a terrible price. For that we have to give him credit.
Unfortunately now, it seems from a distance that he is no longer willing to break the laws which he knows as unjust, an action which he willingly took in the past.
When Dr. Chee Soon Juan broke these unjust laws which restrict free speech and assembly, he got great respect from Singaporeans yearning for their freedom. In doing so, he has shown himself to be a leader, who would dare to defend my rights completely without any concern for self interest. These are men that the people will follow because you can trust them to protect you. These are men that we call leaders in society.
Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Chiam See Tong or Low Thia Khiang, the other opposition politicians are not leaders, not now or ever. They will never win elections through the peoples' support because they won't have any. They may however win through the connivance of Lee Kuan Yew himself to give the impression of a multi party state.
I am hoping that Dr. Chee Soon Juan will return to how he was before, the real fighter who deliberately broke Singapore's illegal unconstitutional laws against free speech and expression and assembly, because they needed to be broken.
If there is one Singaporean opposition politician still worth his salt, it has to be Dr. Chee Soon Juan whom I hope will understand that until he makes it clear to Lee Kuan Yew's government that he will break any law which are unjust and defend his people no matter what it takes, neither Lee Kuan Yew nor his people would take him seriously.
Breaking unjust laws through peaceful civil disobedience in a country like Singapore where the people live in fear, will in the short term alienate those who themselves have no courage. But in the end, it is those who dared who eventually succeeded in the end.
In my law practice I had occasion to meet Peruvians, asking them as to what they thought of Abimael Guzman, a university professor, the leader of Marxist Sendero Luminoso, who is now serving a life term in prison for terrorist activities. They all told me they did not support him, which was quite clear, since his methods were violent resulting in injury and death of hundreds; completely understandable.
But peaceful non violent protest against injustice is different. Had Guzman adopted peaceful non violent methods instead, I think the results in Peruvian politics would have been very different.
Every man respects a martyr and a patriotic using non violence to resist the unjust laws of the state. I would hope Dr. Chee Soon Juan and his Singapore Democratic Party would do it too, because they are the only hope for Singapore. You can forget Kenneth Jeyaretnam and the others, who are there completely at Lee Kuan Yew's pleasure, anytime.
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.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Singapore, a one party city state without class
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times Online edition Jan 04, 2011 has the story "AGC to contest ex-detainees lawsuit". Lee Kuan Yew, present Singapore's dictator and it's Prime Minister in 1964 to 1973, had detained numerous people then under Singapore's Internal Security Act, a law which allows imprisonment for indefinite periods without trial merely on government accusation that they are threats to national security.
One such person jailed under this law was Michael Fernandez, now 77, from 1964 to 1973, a period of 9 years, who, the story says, has commenced lawsuit against the government for his illegal imprisonment, torture, completely ruining his life and career, and for loss of income for the 9 years.
The report states the government's intention to dispute the claim and yesterday, the same newspaper, reports their having filed an application to have his lawsuit struck out because it is frivolous. They claim justification for jailing him without trial because, allegedly, he was a Communist and therefore a threat to Singapore's national security.
A look at Singapore's history clearly shows the jailing of these people by Lee Kuan Yew was illegal. None of them were threats to national security, and if they ever were threats, it was only to Lee Kuan Yew's dictatorial power. And if indeed they were in fact threats, why did Lee not produce the evidence in an open trial instead of jailing them without ever giving them any opportunity to defend themselves.
Even the South African government during apartheid times, when hundreds of political opponents were jailed in Robbin Island, every single one of them was given a fair trial in open court. Mandela who was convicted at the Rivonia trial for treason, had a lawyer representing him in open court. In fact despite the severe repression the blacks suffered at the hands of their government, their courts were a million times fairer than the Kangaroo courts you have now in Singapore.
Operation Cold Store the infamous codename for Lee Kuan Yew's jailing these Singaporeans was a shameful blemish on Singapore's history and the decent thing they should do now is to admit the wrong, apologize to Mr. Fernandez for the terrible wrongs done to him and make amends as gentlemen would. That is what one would expect of a government worthy of it's name, a government which demands respect.
In refusing to admit these shameful injustices in the past, it only shows they have no shame, they are a government incapable of ever being fair and a government completely without class. In other words a government which, out of fear, is incapable of ever admitting it was wrong.
There are of course other nations in the world, respectable nations. Japan I believe has apologized for it's actions during the war, the Americans have apologized for their actions against the blacks, and the Australians to the injustice to their aboriginals, countries which continue to command the respect of the world and what we consider as nations with class, generosity, honest, integrity and magnanimity, while Singapore continues to be a pariah one party state whose existence depends entirely on claiming they can never do wrong.
And that is why, Singaporeans achievements can only be found in their state controlled propaganda press which they dish out daily in large servings. In reality they are sinking faster than the Titanic.
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.
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times Online edition Jan 04, 2011 has the story "AGC to contest ex-detainees lawsuit". Lee Kuan Yew, present Singapore's dictator and it's Prime Minister in 1964 to 1973, had detained numerous people then under Singapore's Internal Security Act, a law which allows imprisonment for indefinite periods without trial merely on government accusation that they are threats to national security.
One such person jailed under this law was Michael Fernandez, now 77, from 1964 to 1973, a period of 9 years, who, the story says, has commenced lawsuit against the government for his illegal imprisonment, torture, completely ruining his life and career, and for loss of income for the 9 years.
The report states the government's intention to dispute the claim and yesterday, the same newspaper, reports their having filed an application to have his lawsuit struck out because it is frivolous. They claim justification for jailing him without trial because, allegedly, he was a Communist and therefore a threat to Singapore's national security.
A look at Singapore's history clearly shows the jailing of these people by Lee Kuan Yew was illegal. None of them were threats to national security, and if they ever were threats, it was only to Lee Kuan Yew's dictatorial power. And if indeed they were in fact threats, why did Lee not produce the evidence in an open trial instead of jailing them without ever giving them any opportunity to defend themselves.
Even the South African government during apartheid times, when hundreds of political opponents were jailed in Robbin Island, every single one of them was given a fair trial in open court. Mandela who was convicted at the Rivonia trial for treason, had a lawyer representing him in open court. In fact despite the severe repression the blacks suffered at the hands of their government, their courts were a million times fairer than the Kangaroo courts you have now in Singapore.
Operation Cold Store the infamous codename for Lee Kuan Yew's jailing these Singaporeans was a shameful blemish on Singapore's history and the decent thing they should do now is to admit the wrong, apologize to Mr. Fernandez for the terrible wrongs done to him and make amends as gentlemen would. That is what one would expect of a government worthy of it's name, a government which demands respect.
In refusing to admit these shameful injustices in the past, it only shows they have no shame, they are a government incapable of ever being fair and a government completely without class. In other words a government which, out of fear, is incapable of ever admitting it was wrong.
There are of course other nations in the world, respectable nations. Japan I believe has apologized for it's actions during the war, the Americans have apologized for their actions against the blacks, and the Australians to the injustice to their aboriginals, countries which continue to command the respect of the world and what we consider as nations with class, generosity, honest, integrity and magnanimity, while Singapore continues to be a pariah one party state whose existence depends entirely on claiming they can never do wrong.
And that is why, Singaporeans achievements can only be found in their state controlled propaganda press which they dish out daily in large servings. In reality they are sinking faster than the Titanic.
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.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Singapore. When credibility is lost, everything is lost.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew got it all wrong when he thought all it takes to move a country is coercion, compulsion and abusing the law and state power to silence dissent and destroy his opponents.
Funny he never realized all these years that it is credibility and integrity that moves a country forward and without it, all is lost. And that is exactly the unenviable position that Singapore finds itself.
When Lee Kuan Yew ordered his Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean to abuse the law and punish his political enemy Dr. Chee Soon Juan in May 2008, the knowledge of this dishonesty does not stop there. The news of it spreads to her friends and family, her court's staff would hear of it, in turn, their friends and family would know about it, and in this way by these corrupt actions taken by the state every single day, Singaporeans end up having nothing but contempt for their courts, their politicians and their government. And when it loses credibility and respect, all manner of problems will inevitably follow. This is a truism which even a ten year old boy would know.
On the other hand, the reason why Western European countries, America and Australia continue to succeed and attract the best talent from all over the world is because, unlike countries like Singapore, Philippines, Pakistan, their citizens respect their countries, they respect their organs of state, their judiciary is held in high regard and therefore their citizens continue to live and proudly serve and bring up families in them.
Take Australia for instance, the favorite destination for Singaporeans emigrating. People no matter who they are can rely and trust Australia, it's judiciary for it's rule of law and fairness to protect their rights in accordance to it's Constitution. Australia will never fail it's people and those aspiring to settle there know it too.
Take Singapore on the other hand. You have a Constitution where every single right is completely negated. It says you have a right to free speech but at the same time it doesn't. It says you have the rule of law but at the same time the laws are used as a political tool to destroy Lee Kuan Yew's opponents. Lee Kuan Yew says there is no corruption but he himself is the most corrupted person in the island, or even in the world, stealing $3.7 million every year for himself and each of his family members by calling it a salary.
What one finds in the end is an island which is run by a bunch of thugs who would bully you, take your money, and punish you by misusing the law if you stand up to them. Also because it is a one party state with a rubber stamp Parliament, you can never tell what the next law is going to be since these thugs who sit in their Parliament created by them can do anything they want to you. They are not answerable to the Constitution, not answerable to you, or anything for that matter.
In an completely uncertain political atmosphere such as this, no rational human being would want to marry, bring up children or even live there. That it why despite it's claimed successes, the legal profession is shrinking, people are refusing to marry, they are not having children and they are emigrating in droves. With the population continuing to shrink, with increasing foreigners settling there who have neither love or passion for the island, productivity declines, professionalism declines and it reaches a stage where it is left way behind from the respectable nations of the world.
The Philippines trudges along without any real progress and Pakistan is ether declining or just stagnant. It must be clear to anyone why it is so. Both countries have rampant corruption, the courts are amenable to anyone at the right price and crime can easily be excused for the right person. The people lost faith in the administration of justice and every single one of them is trying to go to the West.
Singapore is no different because the malaise in them is the same in Singapore because there is no confidence in it's legal system or the government. And just as the millions of Pakistanis try to flee their uncertain future, so do the Singaporeans. But even though it is bad for the Filipinos and the Pakistanis, the damage to Singapore is going to be much worse because unlike the 100 million or so people there, Singapore only has 5 million of which 2 million are already foreigners. Philippines and Pakistan with their populations may last a little longer but for Singapore, collapse and destruction in my mind is imminent and real.
Pakistan can be another Great Britain tomorrow if they eliminated corruption and instilled trust and respect in their citizens towards their government, just as Singapore can also achieve greatness if they did the same.
Let me give you some bad news from Singapore. It's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Jan 11, 2011 has the story "Foreigners may practice Singapore commercial law". Resulting from the inexorably diminishing lawyer population in the island, which currently stands no more than 2,000 or so, the Lee government has had no choice but to allow foreign lawyers to represent Singaporeans in their money claims, the greatest disservice to Singaporeans. Law is unlike buying a pair of shoes. The lawyer needs to be one of you, understand your language, your customs and mannerisms and your way of like to fully represent you. Now a Singapore claimant would be going to a recently arrived Filipino, who knows nothing of the country or his client to represent him in court against another Singaporean! Ridiculous!
Many countries don't permit lawyers who are not citizens to practice, such as Philippines, and I know of no other country in the world which does not have their own lawyers, as it is always the other way round, too many lawyers.
Another story from the same paper this time Jan 14, 2011, "More couples saying no to having kids". It says even though some Singaporeans are getting married, they refuse to have any children. Surely in the present uncertain one party state where Lee controls everything, having children would be a very unwise thing to do.
Another piece of bad news from the same state controlled paper, this time Jan 13, 2011, "Overseas study grants to ease doc shortages". It tells us of Singapore dishing out large scholarships to Singaporeans studying in the UK to persuade them to return. Another desperate measure just as the numerous desperate measures that all failed. It is not true that there are no doctors, yes there are. Problem is, they are all leaving for the West.
And of course there is this blog Singapore Dissident, which continues to expose the stupidity that goes on there. My purpose which should be clear to anyone, is to hurt the present Lee Kuan Yew government and discredit them through this blog publishing their actions to persuade even more Singaporeans to leave and dissuade good talented migrants from coming and if they do, educate them soon enough so they would leave as quick as they came. It does look like I am succeeding very well indeed.
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.
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew got it all wrong when he thought all it takes to move a country is coercion, compulsion and abusing the law and state power to silence dissent and destroy his opponents.
Funny he never realized all these years that it is credibility and integrity that moves a country forward and without it, all is lost. And that is exactly the unenviable position that Singapore finds itself.
When Lee Kuan Yew ordered his Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean to abuse the law and punish his political enemy Dr. Chee Soon Juan in May 2008, the knowledge of this dishonesty does not stop there. The news of it spreads to her friends and family, her court's staff would hear of it, in turn, their friends and family would know about it, and in this way by these corrupt actions taken by the state every single day, Singaporeans end up having nothing but contempt for their courts, their politicians and their government. And when it loses credibility and respect, all manner of problems will inevitably follow. This is a truism which even a ten year old boy would know.
On the other hand, the reason why Western European countries, America and Australia continue to succeed and attract the best talent from all over the world is because, unlike countries like Singapore, Philippines, Pakistan, their citizens respect their countries, they respect their organs of state, their judiciary is held in high regard and therefore their citizens continue to live and proudly serve and bring up families in them.
Take Australia for instance, the favorite destination for Singaporeans emigrating. People no matter who they are can rely and trust Australia, it's judiciary for it's rule of law and fairness to protect their rights in accordance to it's Constitution. Australia will never fail it's people and those aspiring to settle there know it too.
Take Singapore on the other hand. You have a Constitution where every single right is completely negated. It says you have a right to free speech but at the same time it doesn't. It says you have the rule of law but at the same time the laws are used as a political tool to destroy Lee Kuan Yew's opponents. Lee Kuan Yew says there is no corruption but he himself is the most corrupted person in the island, or even in the world, stealing $3.7 million every year for himself and each of his family members by calling it a salary.
What one finds in the end is an island which is run by a bunch of thugs who would bully you, take your money, and punish you by misusing the law if you stand up to them. Also because it is a one party state with a rubber stamp Parliament, you can never tell what the next law is going to be since these thugs who sit in their Parliament created by them can do anything they want to you. They are not answerable to the Constitution, not answerable to you, or anything for that matter.
In an completely uncertain political atmosphere such as this, no rational human being would want to marry, bring up children or even live there. That it why despite it's claimed successes, the legal profession is shrinking, people are refusing to marry, they are not having children and they are emigrating in droves. With the population continuing to shrink, with increasing foreigners settling there who have neither love or passion for the island, productivity declines, professionalism declines and it reaches a stage where it is left way behind from the respectable nations of the world.
The Philippines trudges along without any real progress and Pakistan is ether declining or just stagnant. It must be clear to anyone why it is so. Both countries have rampant corruption, the courts are amenable to anyone at the right price and crime can easily be excused for the right person. The people lost faith in the administration of justice and every single one of them is trying to go to the West.
Singapore is no different because the malaise in them is the same in Singapore because there is no confidence in it's legal system or the government. And just as the millions of Pakistanis try to flee their uncertain future, so do the Singaporeans. But even though it is bad for the Filipinos and the Pakistanis, the damage to Singapore is going to be much worse because unlike the 100 million or so people there, Singapore only has 5 million of which 2 million are already foreigners. Philippines and Pakistan with their populations may last a little longer but for Singapore, collapse and destruction in my mind is imminent and real.
Pakistan can be another Great Britain tomorrow if they eliminated corruption and instilled trust and respect in their citizens towards their government, just as Singapore can also achieve greatness if they did the same.
Let me give you some bad news from Singapore. It's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Jan 11, 2011 has the story "Foreigners may practice Singapore commercial law". Resulting from the inexorably diminishing lawyer population in the island, which currently stands no more than 2,000 or so, the Lee government has had no choice but to allow foreign lawyers to represent Singaporeans in their money claims, the greatest disservice to Singaporeans. Law is unlike buying a pair of shoes. The lawyer needs to be one of you, understand your language, your customs and mannerisms and your way of like to fully represent you. Now a Singapore claimant would be going to a recently arrived Filipino, who knows nothing of the country or his client to represent him in court against another Singaporean! Ridiculous!
Many countries don't permit lawyers who are not citizens to practice, such as Philippines, and I know of no other country in the world which does not have their own lawyers, as it is always the other way round, too many lawyers.
Another story from the same paper this time Jan 14, 2011, "More couples saying no to having kids". It says even though some Singaporeans are getting married, they refuse to have any children. Surely in the present uncertain one party state where Lee controls everything, having children would be a very unwise thing to do.
Another piece of bad news from the same state controlled paper, this time Jan 13, 2011, "Overseas study grants to ease doc shortages". It tells us of Singapore dishing out large scholarships to Singaporeans studying in the UK to persuade them to return. Another desperate measure just as the numerous desperate measures that all failed. It is not true that there are no doctors, yes there are. Problem is, they are all leaving for the West.
And of course there is this blog Singapore Dissident, which continues to expose the stupidity that goes on there. My purpose which should be clear to anyone, is to hurt the present Lee Kuan Yew government and discredit them through this blog publishing their actions to persuade even more Singaporeans to leave and dissuade good talented migrants from coming and if they do, educate them soon enough so they would leave as quick as they came. It does look like I am succeeding very well indeed.
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.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, falsifying the record
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is not only that Lee Kuan Yew's one party state's judges use the law as a political tool to silence dissent, they even falsify the record as well. Take the following law report from Singapore about me, Singapore Law Watch (2011)07Jan, they carefully distort the facts into the record, and put it out as a law report, which lawyers in the island would rely as precedent. This precedent is patently false in many respects, and completely distorts the facts, which unless checked with other sources, becomes the truth.
This way history is re-written and Lee's political opponents are carefully shown to future generations as evil. At least that is what they hope.
It reminds one of the horrors of George Orwell's Department of Information in "1984", where history is carefully written and re-written to show Big Brother as God and Goldstein the the enemy, the epitome of evil.
But thankfully, Lee Kuan Yew in his determination to destroy democracy, has in fact managed to show the island in very bad light, for those who wish to know, and such distortions and lies, which managed to go down very well in the past, are having a very hard time now.
What has happened, as per my version of things, are appended below the report of Singapore Law Watch, another state controlled law report.
Singapore Law Watch
Disciplinary tribunal finds lawyer guilty
[2011] 07 Jan_ST
Title: Disciplinary tribunal finds lawyer guilty
Source: Straits Times
Author:
Legal News Archive
A DISCIPLINARY tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice has found former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair guilty of contempt of court and misconduct.
As a result, the 60-year-old, who is a US citizen and lives in California, faces possible disbarment in Singapore.
The tribunal, in its report dated Dec 28, found Mr Nair guilty of the five charges brought against him by the Law Society of Singapore. Its case was presented by lawyer Peter Low.
Two charges relate to a July 2008 incident here when he was allegedly abusive to police officers. He was later fined $3,000 for disorderly behaviour and hurling expletives at police officers. Three other charges relate to posts in his blog in 2008, which the tribunal found amounted to contempt of court.
Mr Nair wrote posts in 2008 impugning the integrity of two High Court judges. In another post, he announced that he was defying an undertaking given to a district judge to remove two posts which related to his being in contempt of court. He said that he was standing by what he had written.
The tribunal's report said, in parts, that Mr Nair's authorship and posting of blogs amounted to scandalising the courts, or demonstrated 'his utter contempt towards the court'. It also said his conduct was not befitting a lawyer.
In September 2008, Mr Nair was sentenced to three months' jail for remarks in one of the blog posts, which were found to have scandalised the judiciary and insulted a High Court judge.
Mr Nair was not present for the hearings of the tribunal, which was initiated in September 2009.
The tribunal report noted that he had been notified and had the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's permission to re-enter Singapore if he applied to do so.
The tribunal, made up of Senior Counsel Toh Kian Sing and lawyer Tan Jee Ming, recommended disciplinary action against Mr Nair.
He will be referred to a Court of Three Judges, and could face disbarment, be barred from applying for a practising certificate here, or face censure or other punishments.
He moved to the United States in the early 1990s and became a US citizen in 2004. He stopped practising here but has remained on the rolls.
Mr Nair responded to the tribunal's report in a blog post on Tuesday saying, among other things, that it ignored his various requests - such as for paid air travel and accommodation - and he could conclude only 'that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing'.
This is not the first time Mr Nair has been found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary committee. In 1992, he was suspended from practice for two years for remarks about former attorney-general Tan Boon Teik.
TESSA WONG
1. In 2008 Mr. Nair wrote posts impugning the integrity of 2 High Court Judges.
I have written numerous blog posts criticizing Singapore judges both during, before and after 2008. I find it an honor to do it, because Singapore judges are corrupt dishonest and permit themselves to be used as political tools to silence dissent against Lee Kuan Yew.
It is completely lawful to "impugn" the integrity of a judge such as Belinda Ang Saw Ean who so shamelessly abused her judicial office during the 3 day defamation trial of Lee Kuan Yew vs Dr. Chee Soon Juan. It is not just lawful to "impugn" her integrity in a case such as this, it is completely necessary to do it. And I will do it again because injustice has to be exposed very loudly. Who is it that said, it is a religious thing to condemn injustice. Please refer to my blog post of Thursday May 29, 2008 "Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court".
2. The Tribunal's report said in parts that Mr. Nair's authorship and posting of blogs amounted to scandalizing the courts, or demonstrated his "utter contempt towards the court". It also said his conduct was not befitting a lawyer.
About my having scandalized the Singapore court and demonstrating utter contempt for it, I totally agree. Yes I intended to scandalize the Singapore court because it needed scandalizing, because as the word suggests, it is a scandal for a system such as this that claims to have the rule of law but in fact breaks every single one of it's rules. And yes, I only have contempt for such a legal system which is a mere extension of the government rubber stamping it's decisions, exactly as what the Communist Chinese one is.
As for conduct not befitting a lawyer, I totally disagree. A lawyer should have the courage to stand up to judges who subvert the law for political ends and such action by a lawyer is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Bar. It is those Singapore lawyers who meekly remain silent and do nothing in the face of this shameful disgrace who are acting with such conduct.
3. Mr. Nair was not present for the hearings of the tribunal which was initiated in September of 2009. The Tribunal report noted that he had been notified and had the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's permission to re-enter Singapore if he applied to do so.
This part is a clever distortion of the facts to completely falsify what happened. I have an American passport and ordinarily I would not need a visa to enter Singapore. However in my case, after I had the pleasure of Lee Kuan Yew's jail in Singapore for 2 months, at Changi Airport at the time of my departure, Singapore authorities stamped a deportation order in my passport, meaning unlike any other American I needed a visa to enter Singapore and if I did without permission, jailed for up to 2 years. You see, about this part, this Singaporean Law Report is nakedly silent. So I, unlike any other American can never enter Singapore without a visa, which I needed if I wanted to attend my trial in Singapore.
So several months before the hearings, I had written to Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng, who was alleged to be the Secretary of this disciplinary Tribunal to arrange for a visa. Her position however was all along that this had to be done by me and she will do nothing to facilitate my travel to Singapore. Accordingly I wrote to the Immigration Department several times and they never responded. I then wrote to the Attorney General of Singapore, the Minister of Law Singapore, the Minister of Home Affairs Singapore, not once but several occasions for permission to travel. None of them responded.
Then all of a sudden, keeping in mind that I live in California, and half way around the world from Singapore, about 10 days before the hearing, some woman from the Immigration Department writes to me with a form asking that I fill it up and get a Singapore sponsor for a visa. Since I did not have a Singapore sponsor, I told her so, whereupon she dropped the requirement of the sponsor, but by this time there was only 2 days or so left for the hearing.
But this related only to my applying to enter Singapore and even at this time, contrary to this Singaporean report no permission was given because I never applied. I don't have to tell you that it is impossible to travel to Singapore and be in a state of readiness for the hearing in 2 days!
Cleverly this report distorts the facts and tells bald shameless lies. It was not a case that I did not want to come; it was a case of their not wanting me to be there, because they only began discussing the visa 10 days or so before the hearings! .
Furthermore they never gave me immunity from arrest among other things, which I would come to below. Please see my blog post of Jan 04, 2011, Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! In absentia hearings.
4. "He moved to the United States in the early 1990s and became a US Citizen in 2004. He stopped practicing here but remained on the Rolls".
"He stopped practicing here but remained on the Rolls" is cleverly distorted to appear as if I remained on the Singapore Rolls by choice. This is how it is. To practice law there, you have to be on the Rolls and take out a practicing certificate. For lawyers who emigrate, even though you do not take out a practicing certificate, you still remain on the Rolls. So in my case, I was on the Rolls not because I did anything to facilitate it; you are on it automatically.
5. Mr. Nair responded to the Tribunal's report in a blog post on Tuesday saying, among other things, that it ignored his various requests, such as for paid air travel and accommodation, and he could conclude only "that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing".
This is a cleverly tailored partial half truth and partial concealment of the facts. What was the most important thing I asked for was immunity from arrest and prosecution if I entered Singapore, even if I received permission.
Since my return to USA I had written numerous blogs attacking the integrity of their judges and their legal system. In particular, I broke the undertaking I gave to a Singapore judge not to criticize and to remove critical blog posts, while I was held in Singapore against my will.
All these acts on my part renders me liable to arrest and imprisonment again if I entered Singapore and it would be suicidal for me to do it without some sort of immunity. For this guarantee, I wrote repeatedly to everyone including of course the Tribunal, the Attorney General and every other side kick that Lee Kuan Yew uses but I got no response. This fact appears totally concealed in this report.
If Singapore was serious in giving me a chance to defend myself, it would have been easy for them to give me this assurance so that this case can be fairly litigated.
In addition in a case such as this where Singapore is commencing proceedings, any other respectable legal body would have facilitated his travel, provide his reasonable living expenses to enter and remain in Singapore. To take a hypothetical case, what happens if the Defendant was impecunious, would they proceed in his absence and disbar him because he had no money to come? Their failure to provide a reasonable opportunity for me to attend clearly nullified the value of any judgement they come up in this case.
Please see my blog post of Jan 04, 2011, Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! In absentia hearings. .
6. This is not the first time Mr. Nair has been found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary committee. In 1992 he was suspended from practice for 2 years for remarks about former Attorney General Tan Boon Teik.
The 1992 incident could not have been a greater misuse of the law. In brief, the case arose as a result of Tan Boon Teik claiming that JB Jeyaretnam was not entitled to a pardon resulting from his exoneration of all blame by the Privy Council London arising from his disbarment by the Singapore Court; his reason being that he was not given an opportunity to appear at the London hearing and that Jeyaretnam "had not shown repentance remorse and contrition for his crimes", an incredible statement, given the facts.
The real facts were that Tan Boon Teik did not want to attend the London hearing and therefore he lied about this. Secondly how can a man who was found innocent show remorse repentance and contrition. Surely it is an oxymoron. When I wrote to him asking him to explain he failed to do it. I then distributed the correspondence between him and me throughout the law firms in Singapore.
Surely there is nothing wrong in asking questions of Tan Boon Teik and neither is there anything wrong in telling him that what he was saying is contrary to the facts. For this I was suspended for 2 years. Please see my blog post of December 23, 2010, "Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, two plus two is fifty eight!"
This report iin Singapore Law Watch is written by Tessa Wong. She is one of the remaining Singaporeans who profit any way they can because they do not have the courage or the ability to earn a living in an honest manner. In any case, she carefully remains Tessa Wong, not Tessa Wong Chin Seng, or Wong Keng Keng or whatever. I guess her plan like the many others there, is that when and if she is ever found out and asked to account, she would then cleverly claim that she never was Tessa Wong and she is Wong Ching Ching.
She belongs to a group of human beings who are not brought up in the belief that it is good to be honorable.
And a word of advice to this Singapore government of Lee Kuan Yew. In this day and age, you cannot win in a battle such as this. The truth always trumps the lie, and in this case, when you have an opponent such as me outside your island, there is nothing much you can do to silence him. You cannot arrest him, you cannot take away his job, you cannot harm his family, in short there is nothing you can do.
As for the man on the street in Singapore, your reputation is already rock bottom. And as for those who have an interest in matters such as this, thanks to you for making me famous, my blog would be visited for my side of the story. In the past the lies in this law report would have gone unnoticed because one could not refute it, but today, because of the Internet, I am able to give my side of the story and there is nothing you can do.
So by all means continue, but rest assured, I am going to have my say too.
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.
It is not only that Lee Kuan Yew's one party state's judges use the law as a political tool to silence dissent, they even falsify the record as well. Take the following law report from Singapore about me, Singapore Law Watch (2011)07Jan, they carefully distort the facts into the record, and put it out as a law report, which lawyers in the island would rely as precedent. This precedent is patently false in many respects, and completely distorts the facts, which unless checked with other sources, becomes the truth.
This way history is re-written and Lee's political opponents are carefully shown to future generations as evil. At least that is what they hope.
It reminds one of the horrors of George Orwell's Department of Information in "1984", where history is carefully written and re-written to show Big Brother as God and Goldstein the the enemy, the epitome of evil.
But thankfully, Lee Kuan Yew in his determination to destroy democracy, has in fact managed to show the island in very bad light, for those who wish to know, and such distortions and lies, which managed to go down very well in the past, are having a very hard time now.
What has happened, as per my version of things, are appended below the report of Singapore Law Watch, another state controlled law report.
Singapore Law Watch
Disciplinary tribunal finds lawyer guilty
[2011] 07 Jan_ST
Title: Disciplinary tribunal finds lawyer guilty
Source: Straits Times
Author:
Legal News Archive
A DISCIPLINARY tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice has found former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair guilty of contempt of court and misconduct.
As a result, the 60-year-old, who is a US citizen and lives in California, faces possible disbarment in Singapore.
The tribunal, in its report dated Dec 28, found Mr Nair guilty of the five charges brought against him by the Law Society of Singapore. Its case was presented by lawyer Peter Low.
Two charges relate to a July 2008 incident here when he was allegedly abusive to police officers. He was later fined $3,000 for disorderly behaviour and hurling expletives at police officers. Three other charges relate to posts in his blog in 2008, which the tribunal found amounted to contempt of court.
Mr Nair wrote posts in 2008 impugning the integrity of two High Court judges. In another post, he announced that he was defying an undertaking given to a district judge to remove two posts which related to his being in contempt of court. He said that he was standing by what he had written.
The tribunal's report said, in parts, that Mr Nair's authorship and posting of blogs amounted to scandalising the courts, or demonstrated 'his utter contempt towards the court'. It also said his conduct was not befitting a lawyer.
In September 2008, Mr Nair was sentenced to three months' jail for remarks in one of the blog posts, which were found to have scandalised the judiciary and insulted a High Court judge.
Mr Nair was not present for the hearings of the tribunal, which was initiated in September 2009.
The tribunal report noted that he had been notified and had the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's permission to re-enter Singapore if he applied to do so.
The tribunal, made up of Senior Counsel Toh Kian Sing and lawyer Tan Jee Ming, recommended disciplinary action against Mr Nair.
He will be referred to a Court of Three Judges, and could face disbarment, be barred from applying for a practising certificate here, or face censure or other punishments.
He moved to the United States in the early 1990s and became a US citizen in 2004. He stopped practising here but has remained on the rolls.
Mr Nair responded to the tribunal's report in a blog post on Tuesday saying, among other things, that it ignored his various requests - such as for paid air travel and accommodation - and he could conclude only 'that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing'.
This is not the first time Mr Nair has been found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary committee. In 1992, he was suspended from practice for two years for remarks about former attorney-general Tan Boon Teik.
TESSA WONG
1. In 2008 Mr. Nair wrote posts impugning the integrity of 2 High Court Judges.
I have written numerous blog posts criticizing Singapore judges both during, before and after 2008. I find it an honor to do it, because Singapore judges are corrupt dishonest and permit themselves to be used as political tools to silence dissent against Lee Kuan Yew.
It is completely lawful to "impugn" the integrity of a judge such as Belinda Ang Saw Ean who so shamelessly abused her judicial office during the 3 day defamation trial of Lee Kuan Yew vs Dr. Chee Soon Juan. It is not just lawful to "impugn" her integrity in a case such as this, it is completely necessary to do it. And I will do it again because injustice has to be exposed very loudly. Who is it that said, it is a religious thing to condemn injustice. Please refer to my blog post of Thursday May 29, 2008 "Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court".
2. The Tribunal's report said in parts that Mr. Nair's authorship and posting of blogs amounted to scandalizing the courts, or demonstrated his "utter contempt towards the court". It also said his conduct was not befitting a lawyer.
About my having scandalized the Singapore court and demonstrating utter contempt for it, I totally agree. Yes I intended to scandalize the Singapore court because it needed scandalizing, because as the word suggests, it is a scandal for a system such as this that claims to have the rule of law but in fact breaks every single one of it's rules. And yes, I only have contempt for such a legal system which is a mere extension of the government rubber stamping it's decisions, exactly as what the Communist Chinese one is.
As for conduct not befitting a lawyer, I totally disagree. A lawyer should have the courage to stand up to judges who subvert the law for political ends and such action by a lawyer is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Bar. It is those Singapore lawyers who meekly remain silent and do nothing in the face of this shameful disgrace who are acting with such conduct.
3. Mr. Nair was not present for the hearings of the tribunal which was initiated in September of 2009. The Tribunal report noted that he had been notified and had the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's permission to re-enter Singapore if he applied to do so.
This part is a clever distortion of the facts to completely falsify what happened. I have an American passport and ordinarily I would not need a visa to enter Singapore. However in my case, after I had the pleasure of Lee Kuan Yew's jail in Singapore for 2 months, at Changi Airport at the time of my departure, Singapore authorities stamped a deportation order in my passport, meaning unlike any other American I needed a visa to enter Singapore and if I did without permission, jailed for up to 2 years. You see, about this part, this Singaporean Law Report is nakedly silent. So I, unlike any other American can never enter Singapore without a visa, which I needed if I wanted to attend my trial in Singapore.
So several months before the hearings, I had written to Audrey Lim Yoon Cheng, who was alleged to be the Secretary of this disciplinary Tribunal to arrange for a visa. Her position however was all along that this had to be done by me and she will do nothing to facilitate my travel to Singapore. Accordingly I wrote to the Immigration Department several times and they never responded. I then wrote to the Attorney General of Singapore, the Minister of Law Singapore, the Minister of Home Affairs Singapore, not once but several occasions for permission to travel. None of them responded.
Then all of a sudden, keeping in mind that I live in California, and half way around the world from Singapore, about 10 days before the hearing, some woman from the Immigration Department writes to me with a form asking that I fill it up and get a Singapore sponsor for a visa. Since I did not have a Singapore sponsor, I told her so, whereupon she dropped the requirement of the sponsor, but by this time there was only 2 days or so left for the hearing.
But this related only to my applying to enter Singapore and even at this time, contrary to this Singaporean report no permission was given because I never applied. I don't have to tell you that it is impossible to travel to Singapore and be in a state of readiness for the hearing in 2 days!
Cleverly this report distorts the facts and tells bald shameless lies. It was not a case that I did not want to come; it was a case of their not wanting me to be there, because they only began discussing the visa 10 days or so before the hearings! .
Furthermore they never gave me immunity from arrest among other things, which I would come to below. Please see my blog post of Jan 04, 2011, Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! In absentia hearings.
4. "He moved to the United States in the early 1990s and became a US Citizen in 2004. He stopped practicing here but remained on the Rolls".
"He stopped practicing here but remained on the Rolls" is cleverly distorted to appear as if I remained on the Singapore Rolls by choice. This is how it is. To practice law there, you have to be on the Rolls and take out a practicing certificate. For lawyers who emigrate, even though you do not take out a practicing certificate, you still remain on the Rolls. So in my case, I was on the Rolls not because I did anything to facilitate it; you are on it automatically.
5. Mr. Nair responded to the Tribunal's report in a blog post on Tuesday saying, among other things, that it ignored his various requests, such as for paid air travel and accommodation, and he could conclude only "that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing".
This is a cleverly tailored partial half truth and partial concealment of the facts. What was the most important thing I asked for was immunity from arrest and prosecution if I entered Singapore, even if I received permission.
Since my return to USA I had written numerous blogs attacking the integrity of their judges and their legal system. In particular, I broke the undertaking I gave to a Singapore judge not to criticize and to remove critical blog posts, while I was held in Singapore against my will.
All these acts on my part renders me liable to arrest and imprisonment again if I entered Singapore and it would be suicidal for me to do it without some sort of immunity. For this guarantee, I wrote repeatedly to everyone including of course the Tribunal, the Attorney General and every other side kick that Lee Kuan Yew uses but I got no response. This fact appears totally concealed in this report.
If Singapore was serious in giving me a chance to defend myself, it would have been easy for them to give me this assurance so that this case can be fairly litigated.
In addition in a case such as this where Singapore is commencing proceedings, any other respectable legal body would have facilitated his travel, provide his reasonable living expenses to enter and remain in Singapore. To take a hypothetical case, what happens if the Defendant was impecunious, would they proceed in his absence and disbar him because he had no money to come? Their failure to provide a reasonable opportunity for me to attend clearly nullified the value of any judgement they come up in this case.
Please see my blog post of Jan 04, 2011, Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! In absentia hearings. .
6. This is not the first time Mr. Nair has been found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary committee. In 1992 he was suspended from practice for 2 years for remarks about former Attorney General Tan Boon Teik.
The 1992 incident could not have been a greater misuse of the law. In brief, the case arose as a result of Tan Boon Teik claiming that JB Jeyaretnam was not entitled to a pardon resulting from his exoneration of all blame by the Privy Council London arising from his disbarment by the Singapore Court; his reason being that he was not given an opportunity to appear at the London hearing and that Jeyaretnam "had not shown repentance remorse and contrition for his crimes", an incredible statement, given the facts.
The real facts were that Tan Boon Teik did not want to attend the London hearing and therefore he lied about this. Secondly how can a man who was found innocent show remorse repentance and contrition. Surely it is an oxymoron. When I wrote to him asking him to explain he failed to do it. I then distributed the correspondence between him and me throughout the law firms in Singapore.
Surely there is nothing wrong in asking questions of Tan Boon Teik and neither is there anything wrong in telling him that what he was saying is contrary to the facts. For this I was suspended for 2 years. Please see my blog post of December 23, 2010, "Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, two plus two is fifty eight!"
This report iin Singapore Law Watch is written by Tessa Wong. She is one of the remaining Singaporeans who profit any way they can because they do not have the courage or the ability to earn a living in an honest manner. In any case, she carefully remains Tessa Wong, not Tessa Wong Chin Seng, or Wong Keng Keng or whatever. I guess her plan like the many others there, is that when and if she is ever found out and asked to account, she would then cleverly claim that she never was Tessa Wong and she is Wong Ching Ching.
She belongs to a group of human beings who are not brought up in the belief that it is good to be honorable.
And a word of advice to this Singapore government of Lee Kuan Yew. In this day and age, you cannot win in a battle such as this. The truth always trumps the lie, and in this case, when you have an opponent such as me outside your island, there is nothing much you can do to silence him. You cannot arrest him, you cannot take away his job, you cannot harm his family, in short there is nothing you can do.
As for the man on the street in Singapore, your reputation is already rock bottom. And as for those who have an interest in matters such as this, thanks to you for making me famous, my blog would be visited for my side of the story. In the past the lies in this law report would have gone unnoticed because one could not refute it, but today, because of the Internet, I am able to give my side of the story and there is nothing you can do.
So by all means continue, but rest assured, I am going to have my say too.
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.
Singapore newspaper report on guilty disciplinary finding.
Could someone in Singapore send me a copy of the Straits Times and other local reports on the guilty disciplinary finding against me via Email, nair.gopalan@yahoo.com. It does not appear in the online edition. Thanks
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, CA, USA
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, CA, USA
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! A politically motivated sham
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Way back in May 31, 2008 at about 8.30 pm, I was arrested at Broadway, Hotel, Serangoon Road, Singapore for writing a blog post in this blog (please see blog for details). The next day all Singapore's state controlled newspapers reported my arrest in headlines splashed across it's pages as well as on state controlled TV and Radio. The Singapore Law Society cannot claim they were not aware of it. Therefore in May 31, 2008, more than 2 years ago, they were obviously of the opinion that no ethical violation had been committed, which is why no disciplinary proceedings were commenced.
Later on September 17, 2008, nearly 4 months later, I was convicted in the High Court Singapore for this and sentenced to 3 months jail. At that time too, Singapore Law Society felt no violation of any ethical rules, and therefore no disciplinary proceedings were commenced on Sept 17, 2008 or immediately thereafter.
Secondly on July 4, 2008 I was arrested on false charges of yelling at Singapore policemen with obscenities and behaved in a disorderly manner, allegations that I have denied all along. The next day, July 5, 2008, Singapore state controlled newspapers, state TV and Radio again carried screaming headlines of this. But the Law Society of Singapore took no action then once again because there was no ethical violation.
Thirdly, I had made statements in court during the "yelling at police" trial in August 2008, such as "I have no respect for this court", "this is a politically motivated trial" etc. Yet at the conclusion of the case the judge James Leong, did not find any evidence of contempt of court since he did not charge me with anything except to order me to pay a fine of $3,000.00 which I did. In contempt of court cases, as we all know, it is the judge before whom one appears who can hold you in contempt. Mr. Leong as it appeared was very happy at the conclusion of the trial.
Fourthly, while I am incarcerated in prison for 2 months (the Belinda Ang Saw Ean case), in November of 2008, the police suddenly make a visit to my prison and charged me for what had transpired earlier in James Leong's court! This time they say I had made contemptuous remarks of the Judge and the Singaporean Legal system during the trial and therefore I am now charged with contempt of court. Surely this must be a classic example of how the legendary Kangaroos go about their legal trials. Why should something which James Leong, the judge was perfectly happy with, since he did nothing to charge me with contempt, suddenly become contempt weeks thereafter the incident! In any case, even so, the Law Society of Singapore took no action against me in disciplinary proceedings then, in August 2008, which they should have if they felt any violation was committed.
Fifthly on November 12, 2008, I am brought before Judge Leslie Chew on these contempt charges, at which I apologized, not wanting to prolong my incarceration. Even at this point, the Singapore Law Society took no action against me for any contempt of court, since they were obviously aware that I pleaded guilty. Once again they felt no actionable violation existed.
Sixthly, I return to California on Nov 26, 2010, exactly 6 months since I went to Singapore. Immediately thereafter I write a blog post withdrawing my apology and deliberately breaking my undertaking given to Leslie Chew, the Singapore contempt judge, that I will not attack the Singapore government or their judiciary again and re-posting 2 blog posts that I had agreed to remove relating to this matter. This was a a deliberate intentional breach of an undertaking by given by me to the Singaporean court. Yet in November or early December of 2008, while in California, the Singapore Law Society felt I had committed nothing wrong and accordingly do nothing at all.
Seventh, in this blog I wrote the post "Judith Prakash, another Kangaroo Judge" on November 30, 2008, a post similar to the Belinda Ang Saw Ean post of May 29, 2008. Once again they found nothing wrong at this time too, taking no action.
Then all of a sudden, on Sept 05, 2009, nearly 1 1/2 years after my blog post criticizing Singapore Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean of her disgraceful abuse of the law to please her master Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, for the first time it is reported in the state controlled media of the country, that disciplinary proceedings have been commenced against me, something unheard of in any Bar Association in the world!
Anyone knows that one of the principle functions of any Bar Association is to ensure proper discipline among it's members, to ensure that it's reputation is not tarnished by unethical lawyers. And because of this, every honest Bar Association is constantly on the lookout for this and will always immediately take action, not wait 1 1/2 years to do it!
And therefore the question arises, why did they not charge me with unprofessional conduct in Singapore, in May 2008, for writing the Belinda Ang Saw Ean blog post; why did they not do anything when I was arrested for disorderly behaviour in July of 2008, when I was physically there; why did they not do anything when I was convicted of disorderly behaviour in August/ September of 2008 in Singapore; why did they not do anything in September 2008 when I was jailed for 3 months in Singapore; why did they not do anything when I admitted contempt of court charges in November 2008 in Singapore; why did they not do anything in November 2008 while in California, for breaking the undertaking I gave to the Singaporean court in my contempt case and lastly why did they not do anything also in November 2008 in California when I wrote the "Judith Prakash, Kangaroo judge" blog? Why?
And why suddenly more than 1 1/2 years later, when I am no longer in Singapore, when they can do nothing to me anyway, bring these proceedings? I can tell you why. Why, because these are not decisions of the Law Society of Singapore because it is nothing but an organ of Lee Kuan Yew's one party fascist government, whose orders they are obeying.
It is a completely dishonest body of lawyers who take any action such as this only under the instructions of Lee and his government. It is one thing when a lawyer is found guilty of crimes of moral turpitude such as stealing and when he is someone without political connections, when they act almost instantly, as all other bar associations would do. It is quite another when it comes to a case like this involving a Lee Kuan Yew political opponent when the entire proceedings become political in nature, and no longer a straightforward disciplining function. In such cases, the Law Society of Singapore disgracefully adopts a different role, which is, to use the law to malign, discredit and destroy political opponents.
In the past and when someone who is within Singapore, they usually get away with it, since in the one case, there was no Internet and in the case of someone within Singapore, the repression can be unbearable such as the loss of employment, repeated harassment and repeated imprisonment. In such circumstances the political opponent finds it impossible to resist and the tormentor gets his way.
But in my case, I happen to be a fish not so easy to fry. Firstly, I am outside Singapore island; I am protected by the laws of the United States which is a democracy and they simply can't get me. And most importantly I have this blog. All this completely changes the equation for the fascist one party Lee Kuan Yew regime, who for the first time finds himself having to answer to the world and to the hundreds of thousands of readers of this blog in Singapore. In other words they have got their heads stuck in the bog.
In my last post I have already set out why these proceedings are a total sham because they never gave me an opportunity to appear at my trial in Singapore. And in this blog, we see what it is, a political hatchet job, not a Law Society wanting to discipline anyone.
I am sending this to both Wong Meng Meng, the present Singapore Law Society President Tel: (65)64168000, Email: mengmeng.wong@wongpartnership.com and to the Chinese gentleman with the very fancy English name, none other than Sydney Michael Hwang, the president who initiated these proceedings in 2009, Telephone: +65 572 5579
Fax : +65 6557 0165, E-mail: michael@mhwang.com. I wonder whether they have anything to say to this or as expected, nothing at all.
There is more to come on this, and please do keep reading.
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.
Way back in May 31, 2008 at about 8.30 pm, I was arrested at Broadway, Hotel, Serangoon Road, Singapore for writing a blog post in this blog (please see blog for details). The next day all Singapore's state controlled newspapers reported my arrest in headlines splashed across it's pages as well as on state controlled TV and Radio. The Singapore Law Society cannot claim they were not aware of it. Therefore in May 31, 2008, more than 2 years ago, they were obviously of the opinion that no ethical violation had been committed, which is why no disciplinary proceedings were commenced.
Later on September 17, 2008, nearly 4 months later, I was convicted in the High Court Singapore for this and sentenced to 3 months jail. At that time too, Singapore Law Society felt no violation of any ethical rules, and therefore no disciplinary proceedings were commenced on Sept 17, 2008 or immediately thereafter.
Secondly on July 4, 2008 I was arrested on false charges of yelling at Singapore policemen with obscenities and behaved in a disorderly manner, allegations that I have denied all along. The next day, July 5, 2008, Singapore state controlled newspapers, state TV and Radio again carried screaming headlines of this. But the Law Society of Singapore took no action then once again because there was no ethical violation.
Thirdly, I had made statements in court during the "yelling at police" trial in August 2008, such as "I have no respect for this court", "this is a politically motivated trial" etc. Yet at the conclusion of the case the judge James Leong, did not find any evidence of contempt of court since he did not charge me with anything except to order me to pay a fine of $3,000.00 which I did. In contempt of court cases, as we all know, it is the judge before whom one appears who can hold you in contempt. Mr. Leong as it appeared was very happy at the conclusion of the trial.
Fourthly, while I am incarcerated in prison for 2 months (the Belinda Ang Saw Ean case), in November of 2008, the police suddenly make a visit to my prison and charged me for what had transpired earlier in James Leong's court! This time they say I had made contemptuous remarks of the Judge and the Singaporean Legal system during the trial and therefore I am now charged with contempt of court. Surely this must be a classic example of how the legendary Kangaroos go about their legal trials. Why should something which James Leong, the judge was perfectly happy with, since he did nothing to charge me with contempt, suddenly become contempt weeks thereafter the incident! In any case, even so, the Law Society of Singapore took no action against me in disciplinary proceedings then, in August 2008, which they should have if they felt any violation was committed.
Fifthly on November 12, 2008, I am brought before Judge Leslie Chew on these contempt charges, at which I apologized, not wanting to prolong my incarceration. Even at this point, the Singapore Law Society took no action against me for any contempt of court, since they were obviously aware that I pleaded guilty. Once again they felt no actionable violation existed.
Sixthly, I return to California on Nov 26, 2010, exactly 6 months since I went to Singapore. Immediately thereafter I write a blog post withdrawing my apology and deliberately breaking my undertaking given to Leslie Chew, the Singapore contempt judge, that I will not attack the Singapore government or their judiciary again and re-posting 2 blog posts that I had agreed to remove relating to this matter. This was a a deliberate intentional breach of an undertaking by given by me to the Singaporean court. Yet in November or early December of 2008, while in California, the Singapore Law Society felt I had committed nothing wrong and accordingly do nothing at all.
Seventh, in this blog I wrote the post "Judith Prakash, another Kangaroo Judge" on November 30, 2008, a post similar to the Belinda Ang Saw Ean post of May 29, 2008. Once again they found nothing wrong at this time too, taking no action.
Then all of a sudden, on Sept 05, 2009, nearly 1 1/2 years after my blog post criticizing Singapore Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean of her disgraceful abuse of the law to please her master Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, for the first time it is reported in the state controlled media of the country, that disciplinary proceedings have been commenced against me, something unheard of in any Bar Association in the world!
Anyone knows that one of the principle functions of any Bar Association is to ensure proper discipline among it's members, to ensure that it's reputation is not tarnished by unethical lawyers. And because of this, every honest Bar Association is constantly on the lookout for this and will always immediately take action, not wait 1 1/2 years to do it!
And therefore the question arises, why did they not charge me with unprofessional conduct in Singapore, in May 2008, for writing the Belinda Ang Saw Ean blog post; why did they not do anything when I was arrested for disorderly behaviour in July of 2008, when I was physically there; why did they not do anything when I was convicted of disorderly behaviour in August/ September of 2008 in Singapore; why did they not do anything in September 2008 when I was jailed for 3 months in Singapore; why did they not do anything when I admitted contempt of court charges in November 2008 in Singapore; why did they not do anything in November 2008 while in California, for breaking the undertaking I gave to the Singaporean court in my contempt case and lastly why did they not do anything also in November 2008 in California when I wrote the "Judith Prakash, Kangaroo judge" blog? Why?
And why suddenly more than 1 1/2 years later, when I am no longer in Singapore, when they can do nothing to me anyway, bring these proceedings? I can tell you why. Why, because these are not decisions of the Law Society of Singapore because it is nothing but an organ of Lee Kuan Yew's one party fascist government, whose orders they are obeying.
It is a completely dishonest body of lawyers who take any action such as this only under the instructions of Lee and his government. It is one thing when a lawyer is found guilty of crimes of moral turpitude such as stealing and when he is someone without political connections, when they act almost instantly, as all other bar associations would do. It is quite another when it comes to a case like this involving a Lee Kuan Yew political opponent when the entire proceedings become political in nature, and no longer a straightforward disciplining function. In such cases, the Law Society of Singapore disgracefully adopts a different role, which is, to use the law to malign, discredit and destroy political opponents.
In the past and when someone who is within Singapore, they usually get away with it, since in the one case, there was no Internet and in the case of someone within Singapore, the repression can be unbearable such as the loss of employment, repeated harassment and repeated imprisonment. In such circumstances the political opponent finds it impossible to resist and the tormentor gets his way.
But in my case, I happen to be a fish not so easy to fry. Firstly, I am outside Singapore island; I am protected by the laws of the United States which is a democracy and they simply can't get me. And most importantly I have this blog. All this completely changes the equation for the fascist one party Lee Kuan Yew regime, who for the first time finds himself having to answer to the world and to the hundreds of thousands of readers of this blog in Singapore. In other words they have got their heads stuck in the bog.
In my last post I have already set out why these proceedings are a total sham because they never gave me an opportunity to appear at my trial in Singapore. And in this blog, we see what it is, a political hatchet job, not a Law Society wanting to discipline anyone.
I am sending this to both Wong Meng Meng, the present Singapore Law Society President Tel: (65)64168000, Email: mengmeng.wong@wongpartnership.com and to the Chinese gentleman with the very fancy English name, none other than Sydney Michael Hwang, the president who initiated these proceedings in 2009, Telephone: +65 572 5579
Fax : +65 6557 0165, E-mail: michael@mhwang.com. I wonder whether they have anything to say to this or as expected, nothing at all.
There is more to come on this, and please do keep reading.
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.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, Guilty! In absentia hearings.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The decision of the Singaporean Law Society has finally arrived. In their decision which I received yesterday in Fremont California, Jan 04, 2011; the Disciplinary Council of Singapore had proceeded to hear my case in Singapore without me and found me guilty of all 5 charges. For the charges refer to my earlier posts.
After this finding of guilt, under Singapore procedures, the matter is sent to a panel of 3 judges in the Singapore High Court. They would then either affirm or overrule the decision, and order their punishment which can be anything from disbarment for the most serious cases to a simple rebuke in the least serious ones. In this case of course, knowing Singaporean justice against their political opponents, of which I proudly proclaim to be one, it has to be disbarment. Of course.
One of the 2 Singapore Tribunal members who heard this case was Mr. Toh Kian Sing of Rajah and Tann, 9 Battery Road, #25-01 Straits Trading Building, Singapore 049910, Republic of Singapore, Tel (65) 62320614, Email:kian.sing.toh@rajahtann.com.
This man was the President of the Tribunal. He works in a law firm closely connected to Lee Kuan Yew's ruling party, the PAP, and lawyers such as this are loyal die hard supporters of Lee Kuan Yew's government. Lee uses them to remain in power by destroying political opposition. Although this would not be revealed publicly, he is a tried and ardent supporter of Lee Kuan Yew's one party state and profits by undertaking work such as this for his master. In return, he gets lucrative legal work, leads a very successful and sheltered life while Lee remains in power. As to what happens to him after Lee is anyone's guess as is always the case in dictatorships all over the world. This sort of a life would be distasteful to anyone with any self respect, but in Singapore many live such lives comfortably.
The other Tribunal judge is Mr. Tan Jee Ming, Straits Law Practice LLC, 36 Robinson Road #18-00 City House, Singapore 068877, Tel: (65)381300. Although he does not appear from his practice to be as closely connected to Lee Kuan Yew, it could either be that he is in fact a collaborator in Lee's dirty work or is trying to be one by this obvious route. He does not appear to have a work Email address. Many lawyers try to seek Lee's recognition in any way they can, as the rewards are unimaginably good.
Please contact both of them if you feel a telling off is necessary.
In this episode on Singapore's finding me guilty, I shall refer to their decision in instalments. In this one, I will tell you why their proceeding against me in absentia was wrong which thereby made it completely devoid of any merit, not withstanding it's other equally ludicrous portions.
As you know, I am resident in California, USA and the Singapore authorities had decided to commence these proceedings in Singapore in 2009. The reader would appreciate the background to my being in California. In 2008 September, I was convicted by a 3 month jail sentence for criticizing Singapore Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean in this blog, please see blog entry Thursday, May 29, 2008, Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court . When I was released from jail and prior to departing Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Immigration had stamped my passport with the notation that I was deported from Singapore, and if I ever entered without permission, I could be jailed for up to 2 years.
Therefore when Singapore commences these proceedings, they are aware that I am not able to enter Singapore without permission. In any case, I made this fact abundantly clear to them.
Despite this, the Disciplinary Committee in Singapore made no attempt to arrange for me to enter Singapore despite numerous letters sent not only to them but also to the Law Society of Singapore, Singapore Minister for Law, Minister for Home Affairs, the Singapore Attorney General and various other of Lee Kuan Yew's luminaries in the island, yet I never received a single response. It was as if this Tribunal and everyone else in Lee Kuan Yew's island had made up their minds that they are going to have this case heard in Singapore without me.
Finally at the 11th hour, about 5 days before the hearing, we have someone from the Singapore Immigration Department writing to me with a couple of forms asking me to apply for permission to enter Singapore with a Singaporean sponsor. When I Emailed to her stating I had no one in Singapore, there was only about 2 days left for the hearing for her to drop that requirement but of course travelling to Singapore by then was impossible. How does one drop everything in California, rush out for an air ticket and fly halfway round the world to Singapore in a handful of days ready for the Lee Kuan Yew's disciplinary judge's hearing. All this stupidity only says one thing, which is, they don't want me to be there, period.
Since these are proceedings serious, quasi criminal in nature where my licence to practice law is on the line, it is encumbent on any tribunal to provide all reasonable means for the Defendant to defend himself. What if I had no money to buy a ticket, are they going to hear the case without me and strike me off the Bar? If a criminal defendant was abroad, will Singapore demand that he buy his own airline ticket to attend trial in Singapore or will they repatriate him at their expense? Or are they suggesting that they will find the criminal guilty in his absence and later throw him in a Singapore jail! You can see that as time went on these proceedings were becoming funnier and funnier.
I not only demanded that they provide the air ticket, but also reasonable accommodation costs. None of those questions were ever answered by anyone.
I had asked them to provide the court transcripts of the Singapore High Court and Singapore Subordinate Courts to which I was entitled at their expense, documents which they were going to rely on to have me disbarred!
In discovery in any criminal or quasi criminal case such as this where a person's livelihood is on the line, it was clearly their duty to appraise the Defendant of what he is being charged with and what the prosecution is relying on. They simply refused to let me have those court transcripts and demanded that I obtain them at my own expense, which I did not. Why should I? It is they who are proceeding against me and it is they who should provide me with the evidence.
Lastly, by reason of the charges against me, the writer should be aware that several actions undertaken by me were in fact new criminal actions under Singapore law. For instance, if the blog post that I wrote in May of 2008 was criminal conduct for which I was sent to jail, surely I have committed numerous criminal acts thereafter since almost every blog entry in this blog after my leaving Singapore was criticism of Lee Kuan Yew and his judges even more severe than the one for which I was arrested.
And one of the charges was for my deliberately violating an undertaking I gave a Singaporean judge in the contempt charge against me.
Any reader will therefore see that it is dead certain that I will be rearrested if I ever stepped into Singapore, and sent to jail for a very long time. The only reason why this tin pot tyrant cannot get me now is because I am outside Singapore. I know that I cannot ever re-enter Singapore because of my continuing cause of criticizing Lee Kuan Yew his dictatorship and his state controlled legal system.
So naturally I wrote to this tribunal, the Attorney General of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, his son the Prime Minister, the Singapore Law Society, the Minister for Law and every other of Lee Kuan Yew's sidekicks, asking that they give me an assurance that I will not be rearrested if I ever entered Singapore. Without such an assurance, even though it is still unsafe even with it, it would be impossible for me to be on Singaporean soil. But you know what, not this Tribunal or anyone of these people ever responded to any of my requests.
In fact this Tribunal makes mockery of their entire system by saying the following in their decision, page 5 and 6, number 14:
"the Respondent had also raised other issues relating to his re-entry to Singapore for the purpose of attending the hearing of these proceedings. Principally he had sought the payment of travelling and living expenses that would be incurred during his stay in Singapore for the hearing of these proceedings. He had also sought an assurance that he would not be re-arrested if he entered Singapore"
But except to merely say this, the Tribunal president does not say anymore! He conveniently does not say that he totally ignored my requests, ignored my requests for the court transcripts, except to provide case names and citations never provided the cases and authorities that he relied on, ignored my requests to provide travelling expenses, ignored my requests for Singapore hotel expenses, and most importantly ignored my requests for safe passage in and out of Singapore without arrest! Very cunning indeed! Very convenient indeed.
In other words my friends, what the Singapore authorities are asking me to do is to spend my own money, buy my own airline ticket, land at Singapore airport and be arrested the moment SQ1 lands on the tarmac of Runway 030 and has come to a stationary stop! What do they think I am, stupid!
This entire proceedings from the point they proceeded to hear the case without me, fails. It is total violation of natural justice and simply cannot stand. I am surprised at the incompetence of these men and women close to Lee Kuan Yew who should have realized that in the face of the Internet, where you have Gopalan Nair who is simply cherishing every minute of this exposure, surely they should have considered their actions better. Surely they should have ensured at least a modicum of fair play in the face of the audience.
In the end one can only come to the conclusion that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing. Fear perhaps, of even more embarrassment? How best to do it, by pretending that they gave me an opportunity to attend my trial when in fact there was none at all.
It was an In Absentia Hearing, pure and simple.
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.
The decision of the Singaporean Law Society has finally arrived. In their decision which I received yesterday in Fremont California, Jan 04, 2011; the Disciplinary Council of Singapore had proceeded to hear my case in Singapore without me and found me guilty of all 5 charges. For the charges refer to my earlier posts.
After this finding of guilt, under Singapore procedures, the matter is sent to a panel of 3 judges in the Singapore High Court. They would then either affirm or overrule the decision, and order their punishment which can be anything from disbarment for the most serious cases to a simple rebuke in the least serious ones. In this case of course, knowing Singaporean justice against their political opponents, of which I proudly proclaim to be one, it has to be disbarment. Of course.
One of the 2 Singapore Tribunal members who heard this case was Mr. Toh Kian Sing of Rajah and Tann, 9 Battery Road, #25-01 Straits Trading Building, Singapore 049910, Republic of Singapore, Tel (65) 62320614, Email:kian.sing.toh@rajahtann.com.
This man was the President of the Tribunal. He works in a law firm closely connected to Lee Kuan Yew's ruling party, the PAP, and lawyers such as this are loyal die hard supporters of Lee Kuan Yew's government. Lee uses them to remain in power by destroying political opposition. Although this would not be revealed publicly, he is a tried and ardent supporter of Lee Kuan Yew's one party state and profits by undertaking work such as this for his master. In return, he gets lucrative legal work, leads a very successful and sheltered life while Lee remains in power. As to what happens to him after Lee is anyone's guess as is always the case in dictatorships all over the world. This sort of a life would be distasteful to anyone with any self respect, but in Singapore many live such lives comfortably.
The other Tribunal judge is Mr. Tan Jee Ming, Straits Law Practice LLC, 36 Robinson Road #18-00 City House, Singapore 068877, Tel: (65)381300. Although he does not appear from his practice to be as closely connected to Lee Kuan Yew, it could either be that he is in fact a collaborator in Lee's dirty work or is trying to be one by this obvious route. He does not appear to have a work Email address. Many lawyers try to seek Lee's recognition in any way they can, as the rewards are unimaginably good.
Please contact both of them if you feel a telling off is necessary.
In this episode on Singapore's finding me guilty, I shall refer to their decision in instalments. In this one, I will tell you why their proceeding against me in absentia was wrong which thereby made it completely devoid of any merit, not withstanding it's other equally ludicrous portions.
As you know, I am resident in California, USA and the Singapore authorities had decided to commence these proceedings in Singapore in 2009. The reader would appreciate the background to my being in California. In 2008 September, I was convicted by a 3 month jail sentence for criticizing Singapore Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean in this blog, please see blog entry Thursday, May 29, 2008, Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court . When I was released from jail and prior to departing Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Immigration had stamped my passport with the notation that I was deported from Singapore, and if I ever entered without permission, I could be jailed for up to 2 years.
Therefore when Singapore commences these proceedings, they are aware that I am not able to enter Singapore without permission. In any case, I made this fact abundantly clear to them.
Despite this, the Disciplinary Committee in Singapore made no attempt to arrange for me to enter Singapore despite numerous letters sent not only to them but also to the Law Society of Singapore, Singapore Minister for Law, Minister for Home Affairs, the Singapore Attorney General and various other of Lee Kuan Yew's luminaries in the island, yet I never received a single response. It was as if this Tribunal and everyone else in Lee Kuan Yew's island had made up their minds that they are going to have this case heard in Singapore without me.
Finally at the 11th hour, about 5 days before the hearing, we have someone from the Singapore Immigration Department writing to me with a couple of forms asking me to apply for permission to enter Singapore with a Singaporean sponsor. When I Emailed to her stating I had no one in Singapore, there was only about 2 days left for the hearing for her to drop that requirement but of course travelling to Singapore by then was impossible. How does one drop everything in California, rush out for an air ticket and fly halfway round the world to Singapore in a handful of days ready for the Lee Kuan Yew's disciplinary judge's hearing. All this stupidity only says one thing, which is, they don't want me to be there, period.
Since these are proceedings serious, quasi criminal in nature where my licence to practice law is on the line, it is encumbent on any tribunal to provide all reasonable means for the Defendant to defend himself. What if I had no money to buy a ticket, are they going to hear the case without me and strike me off the Bar? If a criminal defendant was abroad, will Singapore demand that he buy his own airline ticket to attend trial in Singapore or will they repatriate him at their expense? Or are they suggesting that they will find the criminal guilty in his absence and later throw him in a Singapore jail! You can see that as time went on these proceedings were becoming funnier and funnier.
I not only demanded that they provide the air ticket, but also reasonable accommodation costs. None of those questions were ever answered by anyone.
I had asked them to provide the court transcripts of the Singapore High Court and Singapore Subordinate Courts to which I was entitled at their expense, documents which they were going to rely on to have me disbarred!
In discovery in any criminal or quasi criminal case such as this where a person's livelihood is on the line, it was clearly their duty to appraise the Defendant of what he is being charged with and what the prosecution is relying on. They simply refused to let me have those court transcripts and demanded that I obtain them at my own expense, which I did not. Why should I? It is they who are proceeding against me and it is they who should provide me with the evidence.
Lastly, by reason of the charges against me, the writer should be aware that several actions undertaken by me were in fact new criminal actions under Singapore law. For instance, if the blog post that I wrote in May of 2008 was criminal conduct for which I was sent to jail, surely I have committed numerous criminal acts thereafter since almost every blog entry in this blog after my leaving Singapore was criticism of Lee Kuan Yew and his judges even more severe than the one for which I was arrested.
And one of the charges was for my deliberately violating an undertaking I gave a Singaporean judge in the contempt charge against me.
Any reader will therefore see that it is dead certain that I will be rearrested if I ever stepped into Singapore, and sent to jail for a very long time. The only reason why this tin pot tyrant cannot get me now is because I am outside Singapore. I know that I cannot ever re-enter Singapore because of my continuing cause of criticizing Lee Kuan Yew his dictatorship and his state controlled legal system.
So naturally I wrote to this tribunal, the Attorney General of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, his son the Prime Minister, the Singapore Law Society, the Minister for Law and every other of Lee Kuan Yew's sidekicks, asking that they give me an assurance that I will not be rearrested if I ever entered Singapore. Without such an assurance, even though it is still unsafe even with it, it would be impossible for me to be on Singaporean soil. But you know what, not this Tribunal or anyone of these people ever responded to any of my requests.
In fact this Tribunal makes mockery of their entire system by saying the following in their decision, page 5 and 6, number 14:
"the Respondent had also raised other issues relating to his re-entry to Singapore for the purpose of attending the hearing of these proceedings. Principally he had sought the payment of travelling and living expenses that would be incurred during his stay in Singapore for the hearing of these proceedings. He had also sought an assurance that he would not be re-arrested if he entered Singapore"
But except to merely say this, the Tribunal president does not say anymore! He conveniently does not say that he totally ignored my requests, ignored my requests for the court transcripts, except to provide case names and citations never provided the cases and authorities that he relied on, ignored my requests to provide travelling expenses, ignored my requests for Singapore hotel expenses, and most importantly ignored my requests for safe passage in and out of Singapore without arrest! Very cunning indeed! Very convenient indeed.
In other words my friends, what the Singapore authorities are asking me to do is to spend my own money, buy my own airline ticket, land at Singapore airport and be arrested the moment SQ1 lands on the tarmac of Runway 030 and has come to a stationary stop! What do they think I am, stupid!
This entire proceedings from the point they proceeded to hear the case without me, fails. It is total violation of natural justice and simply cannot stand. I am surprised at the incompetence of these men and women close to Lee Kuan Yew who should have realized that in the face of the Internet, where you have Gopalan Nair who is simply cherishing every minute of this exposure, surely they should have considered their actions better. Surely they should have ensured at least a modicum of fair play in the face of the audience.
In the end one can only come to the conclusion that they simply did not want me to appear at their hearing. Fear perhaps, of even more embarrassment? How best to do it, by pretending that they gave me an opportunity to attend my trial when in fact there was none at all.
It was an In Absentia Hearing, pure and simple.
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.
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