Singabloodypore

Breaking news: IBA says it did not send letter that LKY testified it did
Wednesday, 02 July 2008
Singapore Democrats

In the recent defamation suit hearing to assess damages, Mr Lee Kuan Yew testified in court that the President of the International Bar Association (IBA) had written to the Law Society of Singapore praising the judiciary here.

This letter was apparently written following the organisation's annual conference held in Singapore in September last year.

The following is what Mr Lee said in court:

"Your honour, the International Bar Association decided to honour Singapore and hold its annual conference in this city and you [Dr Chee] were given an opportunity to present your case, with your complaint that Singapore lack the rule of law. There were some 3000 lawyers there.

I think they left Singapore with a very different impression from what you have projected because we have a letter from the President of the International Bar Association to the organisers, namely the Law Society of Singapore, how successful the meeting was and how impressed they were by the standards they found to obtain in the judiciary - " (see here also)

But the IBA has confirmed to the SDP that there was no such letter. According to the IBA its president did not write such a letter. The Law Society of Singapore has also denied that it has received any such letter from the IBA.

An IBA official said: "If there is another source of this letter, we do not know about it."

Mr Lee gave this evidence in the witness box during cross-examination by Dr Chee Soon Juan on 27 May 08.

The SDP will seek legal advice on this latest development.

In a related matter, Mr Lee's press secretary wrote to the Wall Street Journal stating that Dr Chee had called Singapore leaders "murderers, robbers, child molesters" and "rapists" in open court.

Dr Chee clearly said no such thing and has written to the newspaper challenging the Minister Mentor to produce the records showing that he (Dr Chee) did. (See here).

Tuesday, 01 July 2008
Singapore Democrats

To: The Wall Street Journal

I refer to the letter by Mr Lee Kuan Yew's press secretary (Two Views of Freedom of Speech and Law in Singapore, June 30, 2008) in which she quoted me as calling, in open court, "Singapore leaders 'murderers, robbers, child molesters' and 'rapists'."

The outrageousness of Madam Yeong's lie borders on the comedic. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, or his counsel, is in possession of court transcripts and audio-recordings that would show whether I had uttered those words. He must now produce the part of the transcript that quotes me saying those words or he risks destroying his own credibility.

Mr Lee and his prime minister son, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, sued the Singapore Democratic Party and its executive members for defamation over an article we published in our party newsletter criticising the non-transparent and non-accountable manner in which Singapore was run.

The Lees obtained summary judgment from the courts despite our defence in which we cited disputes of fact and law. In other words, there were triable issues. The summary judgment meant that we were found guilty without given the chance to defend ourselves, call for witnesses and cross-examine the plaintiffs.

Mdm Yeong also says that "Singapore upholds free speech." Yes, and Mr Mugabe has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Your readers might care to know that I have been repeatedly convicted and imprisoned for speaking in public and I face several more such charges. Seventeen of my associates have been charged for conducting a protest against the raising of prices by the Singapore government.

It is also noteworthy that Freedom House stated: “Singapore citizens cannot change their government democratically."

We are not advocating a Western- or Asian-style of democracy. We want a democracy based on universal principles as enshrined in the Singapore Constitution and United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

By the way, Mr Lee sued us in his personal capacity. Why is he using Mdm Yeong, a civil servant, to write the letter on his behalf?

Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party