Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Latest position, Oct 20, 2009, Law Society of Singapore Disciplinary Proceedings

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The latest position on this matter.

1. Singapore Law Society has not answered whether I will be allowed an opportunity to come to Singapore from the USA, where I live, to physically appear for these proceedings. At present by order of Singapore Immigration, I am not allowed to enter Singapore without their permission in writing. In the event Angela Chopard, Head of Disciplinary Tribunals refuses, it will be a serious denial of due process in a legal proceeding. When a defendant is not allowed to answer the charges by his presence at his trial, there will be a total denial of justice.

We are still waiting for Angela Chopard and her Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal to let me know if I will be allowed to appear in Singapore.

2. This Audrey Lim continues to be a mystery. The head of of the Disciplinary Tribunals, Angela Chopard does not know her full name and according to her , neither does anyone else in her office! A search on Singapore Government reveals a person by the name Lim Yoon Cheng Audrey but we are not able to ascertain who she is, and Angela Chopard does not know. Therefore although she has asked us to write to Audrey Lim, in these circumstances we have declined and told her that communications will remain with her cc Yogeswari d/o N Vadivellu, as she had instructed earlier.

3. As she advised we have written to both Singapore Supreme/ Subordinate Courts for transcripts of my trials in Singapore to which these proceedings refer. We are waiting for the transcripts and have informed her that we expect them to give me a continuance until such time these transcripts are received, I have perused them and a sufficient time is given to mount my defenses. I have pointed to them that these transcipts are fundamental for me to answer these charges, as they all arise from them.

4. I have informed her that I am disputing all charges and will be mounting a vigorous defense. The words used by me to refer to both Singaporean Judges Belinda Ang Saw Ean and Judith Prakash were proper, a proper usage of the English language, not intemperate vulgar or insulting. As for the accusations of my insulting Singaporean police officers and behaving disorderly, these are denied. As for the statements made in the court of Leong Kui Yiu James, they were accurate statements and not actionable.

5. Except for the charges and copies of some of my blog posts from my blog Singapore Dissident www.singaporedissident.blogpost.com and a document called Rules 2008, Anglela Chopard has not given me anything else.

6. I have written to her pointing out that as a Tribunal that is charging me with discipline violations that may result in my loss of livelihood as an Attorney in Singapore if I ever wanted to practice there, this is a very serious matter, and it is incumbent on them, under the rules of discovery that they provide each and every document/ information to me, without my asking for them, to enable me to prosecute this defense.

What is surprising so far is this. Unless I specifically ask Angela Chopard for documentation, she appears to think that all she has to do is to forward the charges and copies of my blog post. Her superiors should advise her that this is not enough, at least not so in a civilized country.

As this matter unfolds, the reader will be informed.

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/

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks so much for keeping us posted speedily on your latest persecution by the evil empire of Singapore Inc.
Keep it up Gopal....we are all behind you 100%!

Anonymous said...

There is no point in answering the charges. They already judged you to be 'guilty'. The proceedings are just for show; just like your contempt of court 'trial' in Singapore.

The best revenge is to live a happy productive life in the US away from the Lees.

Gopalan Nair said...

Hello skeptic,

It is not a question of revenge at all. Of course, like you say I can just ignore them and go about my life in California. But I can be of some use for some good. From California, there is a lot I can do to expose this autocratic regime in Singapore. Of course it is impossible to tell, but my writings so far may have caused many to think again of what Singapore truly is. This works against the propoganda that such regimes put out to make them look good. Some day, there will be change, and I will have the satisfaction of having contributed to it.

You may think differently of course, but you are entitled to your philosophy. As for me, I think, if you can help, you should do it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Gopalan,

Well.. I am trying to live my life as far away from the PAP as possible.

I have given up on other Singaporeans since they vote for the PAP at every election and then turn around and complain about government policies- the same government they voted in the first place.

It is so frustrating to see this over and over again, I chose to leave the stupid Island.

You know what Ben Franklin said,
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Anonymous said...

maybe the future of singapore is to be a place where people stay for a while, work, move on

like an office area with an administrator who sees to it that things are running, that's okay, i mean it is small, it can never compete with the much much bigger countries in the long run