This lady has my respect. She has stood head and shoulders above most people who are in a similar boat. My sense is that she feels that her husband was enticed by a slut for commercial reason in view of his position. Sadly he is indeed a nice guy but he got himself into a mess. Very unfortunate as under the old regime, he would have been quietly asked to move on unless money or expensive gifts were involved.. I suspect that their relationship will go the distance.
On 2 Nov, when Tan Chee Meng sought DATA for the second time, he made a curious and telling comment. He said that the prosecution is going for the letter of law and not the spirit of the law. That was a major mistake and I suspect a freudian slip. In essence, the defence is conceding defeat. I did not realise about this comment until I heard about this much later. The way the law is framed for this particular piece of legislation, it appears to be iron clad.
You are right about the law. I am not particularly at ease with this type of law. There is something very wrong with this type of law, as it is very open to abuses and secondly creates laziness on the prosecution side on the government side. It is typical of efficiency and pragmatism but in the long run, does it solve the problems?
I tend to stand on the side of NBG, and I think he does not deserve it. He might have been indiscrete and unfaithful, and over these mistakes, he has to claim corruption that he has no part to play in.
The government here need to realise that all in all, to build the image of being incorrupt is one thing but another, it is to portray the image of being fair and open.
You know something, I think, NBG will get out of this alive, and he will win the case. It is not in the government interest to push him all the way to the wall. All in all, it is how the public perceive that will save NBG. This is the thrust of Tan Chee Meng's arguments. The more media publicity NBG gets in the way of sympathy, his chance of winning is a lot higher.
He will have to thank his wife for it. She stands by him. This certainly wins more sympathy votes. He has a wonderful wife and he will learn his lessons well. End of day, it is wife that loves him but not his part time lover who plays him out.
The government wants to send a message out it is tough on corruption to its own civil servants and the public, and it is ready to prove to the world that its courts are independent, so that a win by NBG is not a loss to the government at all. Its current actions has not diminished the government's standing and as long as that stands, I think they will not mind NBG succeeding in its defence.
For all in all, NBG has already paid the price for his career, reputation and legal fees. From what I hear about him in private, he is actually a decent man. I root for him to succeed and it is not right for a lazy law to win its case, and clearly there is a need for true fairness in law. Without it, law becomes meaningless.