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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>April 13, 2009
S'POREANS IN FOREIGN PRISONS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Project to help those wrongly jailed
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Selina Lum
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HE SPENT six months in an Indonesian prison for embezzlement, was acquitted on appeal, and now, wants to set up a group to help others like him who have been 'wrongly incarcerated' overseas.
Businessman Leslie Ang Kok Wee, 38, plans to put in $1 million to start the organisation, which will be run like a business. His start-up funds will come mainly from the $400,000 he received from the lawsuit he brought against the firm that sent him to Indonesia.
Mr Ang said he has picked 20 'high-calibre' professionals comprising lawyers, accountants and businessmen who are eager to help pro bono but want to 'fly under the radar'.
He also has a working idea for a name: Tip of Spear, the last word short for 'Singapore arrested residents'.
The chief executive of an engineering and construction firm, Mr Ang calls this project a 'hobby', and says that after his hellish experience, nothing is more important than being with his family.
Mr Ang was appointed by steel cylinder manufacturer Capitol Gravure Industries (CGI) in July 2002 as its corporate representative to safeguard its interests in an Indonesian subsidiary. CGI is the majority shareholder of the subsidiary.
In late 2003, the minority shareholder, Indonesian Lim Tji Bin, complained to the Indonesian police that Mr Ang and others were embezzling funds.
In September 2006, while in Indonesia on another matter, Mr Ang was arrested at the airport as he was about to leave for Singapore. He was thrown into jail with no bail offered. 'I was packed for a two-day one-night business trip,' he recalled wryly.
Mr Ang was accused of siphoning $70,000 from the firm. He was found guilty and sentenced to 32 months' jail.
To fund his appeal, he had to sell his apartment and two cars in Singapore. In February 2007, he was acquitted but freed only two weeks later because of the time taken to settle the paper work.
Mr Ang finally walked out of prison on March 14, 2007 and, ironically, had to pay a US$3,500 (S$5,300) fine for overstaying before he was allowed to return home.
He burst into tears upon reuniting with his family. The father of two boys, now aged seven and 10, said his grievance kept him going. 'People are very lost when they are wrongly incarcerated. The will to fight is there but it will fade into resignation. I didn't give up but almost all do.'
Mr Ang said his wife was an 'unbending pillar', holding the family together, liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Ministry while dealing with her father's death. The matter, which cost him $400,000 in legal fees, also made him realise the fight for justice can be 'extremely expensive'.
When a Singaporean is arrested abroad, consular officers can notify his family, visit him, get a list of lawyers and monitor that due judicial process is carried out. They cannot provide loans, post bail or pay fines, intervene in the judicial process or provide legal advice or initiate court proceedings on his behalf. His proposed non-governmental organisation can help when the hands of the state are tied, he said. 'I've been there, done that and know how painful it can be. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.'
S'POREANS IN FOREIGN PRISONS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Project to help those wrongly jailed
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Selina Lum
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HE SPENT six months in an Indonesian prison for embezzlement, was acquitted on appeal, and now, wants to set up a group to help others like him who have been 'wrongly incarcerated' overseas.
Businessman Leslie Ang Kok Wee, 38, plans to put in $1 million to start the organisation, which will be run like a business. His start-up funds will come mainly from the $400,000 he received from the lawsuit he brought against the firm that sent him to Indonesia.
Mr Ang said he has picked 20 'high-calibre' professionals comprising lawyers, accountants and businessmen who are eager to help pro bono but want to 'fly under the radar'.
He also has a working idea for a name: Tip of Spear, the last word short for 'Singapore arrested residents'.
The chief executive of an engineering and construction firm, Mr Ang calls this project a 'hobby', and says that after his hellish experience, nothing is more important than being with his family.
Mr Ang was appointed by steel cylinder manufacturer Capitol Gravure Industries (CGI) in July 2002 as its corporate representative to safeguard its interests in an Indonesian subsidiary. CGI is the majority shareholder of the subsidiary.
In late 2003, the minority shareholder, Indonesian Lim Tji Bin, complained to the Indonesian police that Mr Ang and others were embezzling funds.
In September 2006, while in Indonesia on another matter, Mr Ang was arrested at the airport as he was about to leave for Singapore. He was thrown into jail with no bail offered. 'I was packed for a two-day one-night business trip,' he recalled wryly.
Mr Ang was accused of siphoning $70,000 from the firm. He was found guilty and sentenced to 32 months' jail.
To fund his appeal, he had to sell his apartment and two cars in Singapore. In February 2007, he was acquitted but freed only two weeks later because of the time taken to settle the paper work.
Mr Ang finally walked out of prison on March 14, 2007 and, ironically, had to pay a US$3,500 (S$5,300) fine for overstaying before he was allowed to return home.
He burst into tears upon reuniting with his family. The father of two boys, now aged seven and 10, said his grievance kept him going. 'People are very lost when they are wrongly incarcerated. The will to fight is there but it will fade into resignation. I didn't give up but almost all do.'
Mr Ang said his wife was an 'unbending pillar', holding the family together, liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Ministry while dealing with her father's death. The matter, which cost him $400,000 in legal fees, also made him realise the fight for justice can be 'extremely expensive'.
When a Singaporean is arrested abroad, consular officers can notify his family, visit him, get a list of lawyers and monitor that due judicial process is carried out. They cannot provide loans, post bail or pay fines, intervene in the judicial process or provide legal advice or initiate court proceedings on his behalf. His proposed non-governmental organisation can help when the hands of the state are tied, he said. 'I've been there, done that and know how painful it can be. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.'
