Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state owned and controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Mar 11, 2010 has the story, "Ionescu's conduct flawed" the latest in a long series of daily juicy instalments about Dr. Silviu Ionescu's reports from the presently ongoing Singaporean Coroner's inquiry accusing him of absconding from a fatal hit and run accident.
Really the question is not whether the man is guilty or not, but how his guilt is being proven, Singapore style and the very bad taste it leaves in the mouth.
What is also shown is the rather lowly way Singapore government, this so called Lee Kuan Yew's first world one, behaves in this whole long drawn saga, as if they don't care anymore for acceptable behaviour among nation states, and similarly that of Romania as if they don't care much for the friendship of this tiny island republic either.
You should never forget that Silviu Ionescu was a Class A diplomat representing Romania in Singapore. And it is customary among nation states to accord each other that modicum of respect due, expected in diplomatic behaviour.
One would have thought therefore, that even if Ionescu turned out to be a serial killer, still certain norms of behaviour would be expected.
Even if this is about a man, it is also connected to relations between nation states, in this case the government of Romania.
And in such matters, a state is more restrained than if they were dealing with Ionescu, private citizen.
One would have expected them to request Romania to lift immunity and if this was not possible, they would have lodged the most formal of protests normal in accepted diplomatic relations.
But one would not expect any government, as in Singapore's case, to use their state controlled press to report the details of an ongoing Coroners inquiry in circumstances where it is almost as if they are trying Ionescu for what he is accused to have done in his absence and playing it out for the pleasure of the Singapore public.
In fact, if one has followed this shameful spectacle so far, Ionescu has already been tried and summarily been found guilty. Had he been in Singapore, they would have locked him up and thrown away the key.
And lest you forget, the man was the highest ranking officer of the government of Romania, and these proceedings is not even a trial, it is just a Coroners inquiry!
As for the Romanian government, they too appear determined to smack their thumb at the Singapore government. They don't seem to care the least if relations between them and Singapore deteriorate and business and trade collapses. It would have been easy for them to hand over Ionescu to Singapore, but they appear to have simply said no, to this tiny island city state.
Ionescu it appears is probably guilty of this accident, but disgracing him, his office as a diplomat and disgracing the government of Romania is not going to bring any happiness to anyone, least of all the relatives of the dead man.
I have never seen any other government worth its salt and reputation behave in such a gangster- like manner that they do now.
It is as if they are taking great pleasure by making sure that every Singaporean considers Ionescu, a Romanian diplomat the monster and they do it in daily instalments through their state controlled newspapers.
I am sure the government of Romania is disappointed with Silviu Ionescu but I sure they think even less of the government of Singapore, one that is prepared to stoop so low.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
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13 comments:
There is NUThing LOONG with Trial in the 144th (ST ranking in the newspaper world) court.
Whether is it the LEEyers or the LEEporters, so long as it is SINgapore laws re-written by LEE, It is LEEgal lah!
To LEE
That obviousLEE answer a LEE of questions about rule of LEE. They should make a book on rule of LEE and explain it to the LEE world
This LEEguage is LEEtarded
Renaldi
When I was working in a shipping co. in Singapore and the US expats got into trouble with traffic laws, they usu ask the Singaporeans to take the rap on their behalf.
I wondered why, until I worked overseas in 3rd world country. It was easier to pay a bribe (not my choice) than to go through a broken justice system.
It is the question of confidence and fairness. Why take the chance and be a broken system's whipping boy/girl.
A Chronology of Authoritarian Rule in Singapore Part 1
SHAMEFUL!!
Oct 1994 : In connection with a commentary he wrote in the International Herald Tribune stating how judiciaries in some Asian countries are compliant to ruling powers, American academic Dr.Christopher Lingle was questioned for 90 minutes by the Singapore police for possible contempt of court and criminal defamation. Within a week, he returned to the United States. Dr.Lingle and the Singapore printer were subsequently fined for 'contempt of court by way of scandalising the judiciary' and ordered to pay the government's legal costs, totalling in excess of $100,000. Dr Lingle did not return to Singapore to face the charges.
Dec 1994 : Although the International Herald Tribune published an apology for the above article, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew filed a civil libel suit. The IHT agreed to pay the Senior Minister US$213,000 in damages plus costs for the civil suit.
Lee Rule
Part 2
Feb 1995 : Singapore police mounted a major crackdown codenamed "Operation Hope," raiding private homes where Jehovah's Witnesses members were holding prayer meetings. Officers seized bibles, religious literature, documents and computers, and eventually brought charges against 69 members, many of whom went to jail. A month later, 73 year old grandmother Yu Nguk Ding was arrested for carrying two "undesirable publications" - one of them a bible printed by the group. She spent a week in jail rather than pay a fine.
Jul 1995 : Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won a libel suit against the International Herald Tribune for an article, published in August 1994, suggesting that the younger Lee was appointed to his post on account of his father. The High Court awarded a record judgment of $950,000. The Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ), Asiaweek, and the Far Eastern Economic Review remained gazetted in 1995.
Nov 1995 : Parliament censured Dr Chee Soon Juan and the Singapore Democratic Party for allegedly endorsing attacks on the judiciary made by Chee's fellow panelists, dissident Francis Seow and academic Dr Christopher Lingle, at a forum held at Williams College, USA. Government leaders said that the failure of Chee and other SDP leaders to contradict the attacks made by Seow and Lingle constituted positive assent by "clever omission."
Lee Rule
Part 3
Jul 1996 : The SBA (Singapore Broadcasting Authority) issued a set of broad regulations for the internet. Prohibited material was defined as "objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security and national harmony." Authorities underlined that the Sedition Act also covers the internet. The guidelines were subsequently elaborated on in SBA's Internet Code of Practice in 1997.
Aug 1996 : The Government denied the Singapore Democratic Party a request to produce and distribute video tapes on the grounds that visual images can be used to evoke emotional rather than rational responses. Moreover, according to the Government, the use of videos could allow political parties to sensationalize or distort information to capture the maximum attention of the viewer.
Dec 1996 : Parliament levied fines in excess of $36,000 against Dr Chee Soon Juan and three other SDP members, claiming that they had committed perjury and other offenses during the proceedings of a special parliamentary committee examining government health care subsidies.
Dec 1996/Jan 1997 (General Elections) : Despite being returned to power on polling day due to lack of opposition representation, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong threatened to turn constituencies into slums lest the rest of the electorate voted the ruling People's Action Party.
LKY
Part 4
Jan 1997 : While on their way to meet Tang Liang Hong in Johor Bahru, Mrs Tang Liang Hong and her daughter were stopped by immigration officers at the causeway exit. Her passport was confiscated. On her return home, they found a group of lawyers representing PM Goh Chok Tong, SM Lee Kuan Yew other PAP leaders waiting to serve 13 worldwide Mareva Injunctions to freeze their assets. Shortly after, Inland Revenue officials stormed into their house and carted away tons of documents and articles. A similar raid was carried out at Tang's office in the city.
Apr 1997 : PAP leaders cancelled the passport of Mrs Tang Liang Hong because her name appeared as a co-trustee in one of Tang's documents. If she was allowed to leave Singapore, PAP leaders had feared that they may be unable to recover damages from Tang.
July 1997 : Political prisoner Chia Thye Poh was allowed to travel to Germany to study but was not allowed to make any public statements or address public meetings. He also needed written permission to take part in any political activity or be a member, adviser, helper, official or participant in any organisation or association. Chia, previously an opposition Member of Parliament - was detained without trial in 1966 at the age of 26.
Aug 1997 : The Singapore Government demanded that the Foreign Correspondents Association cancel a speech by then Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. The group's executive committee acceded to the Government's demand.
Aug 1997 : The Internal Security Department, Singapore's secret police, was alleged to have burglarised the home of an American academic helping political exile Tang Liang Hong take up a six-month fellowship at an American university. The break-in, which seemed intended to find computer files and other records listing people interested in Singapore affairs, was investigated by local police and the FBI. According to a recent US State Department's human rights report on Singapore, it is "widely believed that the authorities routinely conduct surveillance on some opposition politicians and other critics of the Government." The same report also stated that the ISD is believed to run a network of part-time informants in the US, Australia and other countries.
Sept 1997 : JB Jeyaretnam was found guilty of defaming Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at an election rally when he told the crowd police reports had been filed against the PM and his PAP colleagues. He was ordered by Justice J. Rajendran to pay $20,000 in damages plus legal fees. After a subsequent appeal by Mr Goh, the damages awarded were increased five-fold, to $100,000.
Nov 1997 : The High Court ordered political exile Tang Liang Hong to pay the PAP leaders $4.53 million in damages.
FAMILEE
Part 5
1997/98 : In 1997 two persons were detained and in 1998, four were detained under the Internal Security Act, all for alleged espionage. Of these six, two remained in detention at the end of 1998. The names of the six detainees remained undisclosed.
Feb 1998 : Tang Liang Hong was declared bankrupt by the High Court after failing to pay $739,976 in damages and interests owed to PAP leaders. Assets belonging to him and his wife were seized. In addition, he was charged with thirty-three counts of tax evasion and there is presently an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Mar 1998 : The Films Act was amended to ban political films and videos. The Government justified the ban as protecting politics from sensationalism, innuendo, and inaccuracy. The legislation defines a party political film as one "made by any person and directed toward any political end in Singapore" or one that contains "partisan or biased references on any political matter."
Mar 1998 : The Singapore Government asked foreign TV stations to restrict coverage of political parties that do not have a wide following. "If we are not careful, foreign broadcasters, like foreign newspapers, can undermine some of our important social and other policies," the Straits Times quoted Minister George Yeo as saying.
July 1998 : The Government passed the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, the Electronic Transactions Act and the National Computer Board (Amendment) Act. Under the amended CMA , the police now has lawful access to data and encrypted material in their investigations of offenses under the CMA as well as other offenses disclosed in the course of their investigations. Under the ETA, the police has been given broad powers to search any computer for an offence related to the act without a warrant.
Sept 1998 : The Undesirable Publications Act was amended to include CD-ROMS, sound recordings, pictures, and computer-generated drawings, and to raise the fine for distribution or possession of banned publications. The Government also publicized the list of banned English-language publications, which is made up primarily of sexually-oriented materials, but also includes some religious and political materials.
Nov 1998 : Political detainee Chia Thye Poh was granted unconditional release. He had spent 22 years, six months, two weeks and four days in jail, mostly in solitary confinement. He then spent another 9 years in Sentosa under severe restrictions.
"The best years of my life were taken away just like that without a charge or trial. As a victim of the notorious Internal Security Act, I sincerely call on the government to abolish the act," said Mr Chia.
Dec 1998 : JB Jeyaretnam and Workers' Party were ordered by the High Court to pay ten members of a committee which organised the first Tamil Language Week in 1995, including PAP MP R. Ravindran, $265,000 in defamatory damages plus legal costs for the 14-day trial.
PAPARTY
Part 6
Feb 1999 : Opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan was jailed twice for giving two speeches at Raffles Place without a licence. For both convictions he was fined a total of $3,900 but chose instead to serve two prison terms of seven and 12 days respectively. Chee's colleague, Wong Hong Toy, was also imprisoned for 12 days after refusing to pay a fine for adjusting the microphone and the volume of the speaker. Amnesty International named both men prisoners of conscience.
Mar 1999 : The ten members of the Tamil Language weekly filed a petition with the High Court to wind up the Workers' Party after it failed to pay over $500,000 in libel damages and legal costs.
Mar 1999 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was fined for selling his book, To Be Free, without a permit. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge as book stores and vendors had refused to sell his books out of fear of prosecution.
May 1999 : When JB Jeyaretnam and Dr Chee Soon Juan applied to register Open Singapore Centre, an official said the application would have to be sent for clearance to the Internal Security Department.
May 1999 : After a law student complained to police that someone with an account in the Home Affairs Ministry had hacked into her computer, the Ministry disclosed that it had secretly scanned the computers more than 200,000 SingNet and SingTel Magix customers, ostensibly for viruses. Singnet apologised to its customers - by email - and says the security check has since been abandoned.
However, according to a recent US State Department's human rights report on Singapore, the "Internal Security Department and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board, have wide networks for gathering information and highly sophisticated capabilities to monitor telephone and other private conversations and conduct surveillance. It is believed that the authorities routinely monitor telephone conversations and use of the Internet.. The law permits government monitoring of Internet use."
May 1999 : In a Straits Times interview, Minister George Yeo warned Singaporeans: "We have had occasions to tell women's magazines not to get involved in partisan matters. If we did not do this, every political party will use women's magazines to get their views across. I do not think that is healthy for Singapore...If you are a civic organisation, whether you are an organisation, if you want to get yourself involved politically, please get into the political arena and not hide behind a religious group, a tuition class, or a theatre troupe."
LKY-LHL Clique
Part 8
2000 : According to the US State Department's human rights report on Singapore, the Singapore Government released a statement confirming that an individual detained by the Internal Security Act in 1998 was still in detention.
May 2000 : Parliament passed the Political Donations Act. Apart from disallowing political organisations from receiving foreign funding, the Act also prohibits anonymous contributions of more than $5000 in any financial year. The Home Affairs Minister has the freedom to define which civil societies are political in nature and are thus bound by the law.
Nov 2000 : Following a four-hour standoff at the Drama Centre, police arrested the president of a theatre company after she tried to rehearse a banned play about marital violence in Singapore's Indian Muslim community. The government said the ban was necessary because artistic works must "respect religious sensitivities in multiracial and multi-religious Singapore." Ms S. Thenmoli, who heads the Agni Kootthu theater group, was given "a stern warning in lieu of prosecution."
Dec 2000 : A Radio Corporation Singapore (RCS) radio report on a Human Rights Day event at Speakers Corner was re-edited after the first report went on air containing comments by JB Jeyaretnam and a letter by Kofi Annan. Shortly after, a spokesperson for RCS said that the journalist Fauziah Ibrahim had "resigned."
Dec 2000 : On Dec 31, police arrested and later charged 15 Falungong adherents for conducting a protest without a permit; only 2 of those arrested were Singapore citizens. The 15 persons arrested had participated in an assembly of 60 Falungong members who sought to draw attention to the arrest and killing of Falungong members in China. The group had not sought a permit, asserting that police had not responded to their previous efforts to obtain permits. In March 2001 seven of the group were sentenced to 4 weeks in jail for refusing to hand over placards to the police.
Imbecile Son
Part 7
Aug 1999 : The police rejected two applications by Dr Chee Soon Juan to hold public rallies.The application was rejected because the venues were outdoors, and there was "a potential for trouble" and public "inconvenience," said the head of the police licensing division. But in a letter to the Home Affairs Ministry, Chee said officials and MPs from the ruling People's Action Party "routinely give political speeches in outdoor areas." Public gatherings of more than five people in Singapore require a police permit.
Sep 1999 : Mrs Tang Liang Hong lost her appeal for damages from PAP leaders, whom she claimed had caused her financial loss. The Court of Appeal also found that she was not entitled to damages for mental distress and anxiety.
Sep 1999 : Elected President Ong Teng Cheong resigned but not before criticising the PAP Government for not providing details of Singapore's financial reserves. They had told him that it would take "52 man-years" to provide the information. In rapid succession, Parliament passed four constitutional amendments to grab back some of the powers that had been vested in the elected president, like his right to veto both defense spending and laws that curtailed his own authority. In a news conference, Ong said that some Ministers and public officials had treated his office as a "nuisance."
"The elected presidency was Lee Kuan Yew's initiative. He came out with the idea way back in '82, '83," said Mr Ong.
Part 9
You are getting the drift.
Read the rest here:
http://singabloodypore.civiblog.org/blog/_archives/2006/3/13/1817663.html
In Singapore, any case against the PAP the result already written on the wall - you're quilty.
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