#Exclusive* Koon Swan to react to his wrongful Singapore prosecution
By Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com | The Edge Malaysia – Mon, Sep 10, 2012 12:00 PM SGT
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Kuala Lumpur (Sept 10) – Businessman Tan Koon Swan, the president of the MCA in the early 1980s and founder of Multi-Purpose Holdings, will react soon for his “wrong prosecution” by the Singapore government during the Pan-El crisis in the mid-1980s.
In the just-published book “Glenn Knight, The Prosecutor”, the writer Glenn Knight -- who was the famous prosecutor then -- confesses to having wrongly prosecuted Tan in 1985 and in the chapter on Pan El crisis, he mentions his apology to Tan Khoon Swan – a fact hitherto unknown for 27 years.
Glenn slapped Tan with 15 charges after the collapse of Pan-El Industries which caused the Singapore stock exchange to halt trading for three days. Among others, Tan was alleged to have committed criminal breach of trust (CBT) and share manipulation, and a guilty finding sent him to Singapore’s Changi Prison for 18 months.
The incident not only forced Tan to quit as MCA president but also the collapse of his huge Malaysian-Singapore business empire which comprise at least three listed companies then.
And posting bail for Tan while waiting for the trial of the century was Robert Kuok, Malaysia’s richest man. Due to this high profile prosecution, Glenn was awarded the Public Administration Gold Medal by the Singapore government. But in 1990, Glenn himself was charged for CBT and later jailed in Singapore.
The wrong prosecution of Tan was splashed on the front pages of two leading Chinese newpapers – the Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew – on Monday. Nanyang said Glenn discovered his mistake several years after Tan was released and he had apologized to Tan.
When contacted on Monday morning, Tan told theedgemalaysia.com he would respond to the wrong prosecution later today.
He said on his handphone: “I am in Hainan (China) in the midst of a meeting. I will call you back later today to talk about this matter.”
Asked whether he would sue the Singapore government, he said: “I am in a meeting. I will call you back later.”
In previous interviews with this writer, Tan did say that he felt “cheated” during the Pan-El crisis.
He said he was advised by “people in power” to admit guilt to get a light sentence which would amount to a fine, but he was horrified to hear the jail term when the verdict was read out in court.
But as a born-again Christian, he had tried to forgive all those who had caused agony to him.
Tan is now a property developer with a lot of developments in China. He has been made an “honorary citizen” of Hainan for his contributions there.
By Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com | The Edge Malaysia – Mon, Sep 10, 2012 12:00 PM SGT
Kuala Lumpur (Sept 10) – Businessman Tan Koon Swan, the president of the MCA in the early 1980s and founder of Multi-Purpose Holdings, will react soon for his “wrong prosecution” by the Singapore government during the Pan-El crisis in the mid-1980s.
In the just-published book “Glenn Knight, The Prosecutor”, the writer Glenn Knight -- who was the famous prosecutor then -- confesses to having wrongly prosecuted Tan in 1985 and in the chapter on Pan El crisis, he mentions his apology to Tan Khoon Swan – a fact hitherto unknown for 27 years.
Glenn slapped Tan with 15 charges after the collapse of Pan-El Industries which caused the Singapore stock exchange to halt trading for three days. Among others, Tan was alleged to have committed criminal breach of trust (CBT) and share manipulation, and a guilty finding sent him to Singapore’s Changi Prison for 18 months.
The incident not only forced Tan to quit as MCA president but also the collapse of his huge Malaysian-Singapore business empire which comprise at least three listed companies then.
And posting bail for Tan while waiting for the trial of the century was Robert Kuok, Malaysia’s richest man. Due to this high profile prosecution, Glenn was awarded the Public Administration Gold Medal by the Singapore government. But in 1990, Glenn himself was charged for CBT and later jailed in Singapore.
The wrong prosecution of Tan was splashed on the front pages of two leading Chinese newpapers – the Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew – on Monday. Nanyang said Glenn discovered his mistake several years after Tan was released and he had apologized to Tan.
When contacted on Monday morning, Tan told theedgemalaysia.com he would respond to the wrong prosecution later today.
He said on his handphone: “I am in Hainan (China) in the midst of a meeting. I will call you back later today to talk about this matter.”
Asked whether he would sue the Singapore government, he said: “I am in a meeting. I will call you back later.”
In previous interviews with this writer, Tan did say that he felt “cheated” during the Pan-El crisis.
He said he was advised by “people in power” to admit guilt to get a light sentence which would amount to a fine, but he was horrified to hear the jail term when the verdict was read out in court.
But as a born-again Christian, he had tried to forgive all those who had caused agony to him.
Tan is now a property developer with a lot of developments in China. He has been made an “honorary citizen” of Hainan for his contributions there.
