Dr. Chee Soon Juan (simplified Chinese: 徐顺全; traditional Chinese: 徐順全; pinyin: Xú Shùnquán, born 1962) is the Secretary General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
Before 2001: Chee's beginnings in SDP
Chee was a lecturer in neuropsychology at the National University of Singapore when he joined the SDP in 1992.[2] The first election Chee contested was the 1992 Marine Parade by-election when his team won 24.5% of the votes. In 1993, a few months after Chee joined the SDP, the university terminated his employment for an alleged misappropriation of $226 and sued him for defamation when Chee contested the allegations.[3] Chee later staged a hunger strike in response.[4].
The SDP, headed by Chee, was later sued by Chiam See Tong, for insinuating that Chiam was acting on behalf of the ruling party. The SDP lost and was ordered to pay Chiam damages of $150,000.[5]
The 1997 election was significant in that Chee openly challenged Matthias Yao to a one-on-one fight. Living up to the challenge, Yao took him on after Macpherson was cut out as a single-member constituency. Chee lost garnering a mere 34.8% of the votes, nowhere close to the national average for the opposition. He also led the party to lose all three parliamentary seats it held.[6]
2001 General Elections and its aftermath
In the 2001 Singapore General Election, Chee led another team, losing with 20.2% of the votes in Jurong GRC in 2001. After the election, Chee was sued for defamation by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew for remarks he made during the general election. He allegedly accused both Goh and Lee for misleading Parliament over an alleged $17 billion loan to former Indonesian president Suharto.
Chee lost the lawsuits and was ordered to pay S$200,000 to Lee and S$300,000 to Goh. Chee was later declared a bankrupt in 2006, for failing to pay the damages.
As an undischarged bankrupt, Chee could not run for elections. He also had to seek the Official Assignee's permission before leaving the country.
In 2002, Chee was fined S$3,000 for speaking at the Speakers' Corner in Singapore on 15 February 2002, which requires prior registration and where discussion about race and religion is prohibited.[7]. As a result of this conviction, Chee was ineligible for the 2006 general election.
On 1 May 2002, Chee staged a peaceful rally in front of Istana, official residence and office of the President of Singapore. Chee had earlier applied for a license to hold the rally, but the application was denied. In Singapore, assemblies require a police permit.[8] Chee was later charged for trespassing and for attempting to hold a rally without a permit by the police.[9].
2006 bankruptcy and contempt of court
On 10 February 2006, Chee was declared a bankrupt by the High Court, after failing to pay S$500,000 in damages awarded to Goh and Lee in the 2001 defamation lawsuit. Upon this bankruptcy order, Chee will not be allowed to stand for elections until February 2011.[31]
On 24 February 2006, Singapore attorney-general filed contempt of court charges against Chee for refusing to answer court's questions and scandalizing the Singapore judiciary during a bankruptcy petition hearing on February 10.[32] Later, Chee was sentenced to a day in jail and a fine of $6,000, but he failed to pay the fine and was jailed for an additional seven days.[33] [34] He was released on 24 March 2006.[35]
In April 2006, Chee was stopped at the airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Istanbul. As an undischarged bankrupt, he could not leave Singapore without official approval of the Official Asignee.[36]
Charges for speaking in public without a permit
On 20 June 2006, Chee was charged in court facing eight counts of speaking in public without a licence between 13 November 2005 and 22 April 2006, allegedly violating the Public Entertainments and Meeting Act. Two other SDP members were also charged.[40]
On 23 November 2006, Chee was jailed for five weeks over his failure to pay a S$5,000 fine for speaking in public without a permit in April 2006. Two other SDP members, Gandhi Ambalam and Yap Keng Ho, were also imprisoned.[41]
(This loser has FAIL written all over his entire life! In this respect, he is really a major douchebag! :oIo
