PAP still deaf and crushing dissent

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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PAP still deaf and crushing dissent[/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=1]Lawyer gets life-time ban for 'scandalising the courts'[/h]<!-- by line --><!-- end by line --><!-- end left side bar -->[h=4]Former Singapore lawyer Gopalan Nair, who is now an American citizen. July 11, 2008. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG[/h]<!-- story content : start -->The Court of Three Judges on Monday barred former Singaporean Gopalan Nair from ever practising law in Singapore. Justices Tan Lee Meng, Tay Yong Kwang and Lee Seiu Kin struck him off the roll following an application by the Law Society that Mr Nair, 60, face disciplinary action for scandalising the courts and conduct not befitting a lawyer. The society reached this conclusion last year after a disciplinary tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice convicted him on five counts. Mr Nair, now an American citizen who lives in California, was not present even though he had been invited to defend himself. He was sentenced to three months' jail in 2008 for contempt of court in remarks on his blog post while on a visit here. But upon his return to the United States, he announced that he was defying an undertaking given to the court to remove posts which had impugned the integrity of High Court judges. A former Workers' Party candidate, he emigrated in 1991 and became a US citizen in 2004. Although he stopped practising here, he has remained on the rolls. He had also, in 1992, been suspended from practising law for two years for remarks about former attorney-general Tan Boon Teik.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_694493.html

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[TD="class: msgtxt"]http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2011/07/singapore-gopalan-nair-disbarred-from.html
Sunday, July 24, 2011
[h=3]Singapore. Gopalan Nair, disbarred from practicing law in Singapore, and none the worse for it! Cheers![/h]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state controlled newspaper, the Straits Times of July 25, 2011, just a few minutes ago, reports in it's headlines, "Lawyer gets life-time ban for "scandalizing the courts"". I have just had the honor of never ever practicing law, in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore courts.

Ordinarily, this news would have occasioned some sadness, that is, if one were to be punished this way by an ordinarily respectable legal system. But it is different here.

This is the same legal system that had disbarred the late respected lawyer JB Jeyaretnam, not because he did anything wrong, but because he had the temerity in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore to criticize him or the government.

It is also the same legal system that awarded Lee Kuan Yew and his family several million, repeat several million dollars in libel award against Tang Liang Hong, just because he criticized the same individual at an election rally in 1997 in Singapore. Tang had since fled the island and now lives in exile in Australia, beyond the clutches of Lee Kuan Yew.

And this same court that has come down with a life time disbarment against me is the same one that has repeatedly awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars against Dr. Chee Soon Juan resulting in his bankruptcy and loss of employment all because he too had the courage to stand against this same man, Lee Kuan Yew.

If one really thought about it, this puts me among great men, JB Jeyaretnam, Chee Soon Juan and Tang, all heroes and martyrs because they too were all punished just as I am today for speaking against this dictatorship which has hijacked the law courts and everything else there.

And as expected of any banana republic such as this that governs by intimidating it's citizens with only the compliant lot left intact in the island, while those with any self respect have all cleared off to Australia and elsewhere, this newspaper report is riddled with lies and half truths.

It says the disbarment was for "scandalizing the (Singapore) courts and conduct not befitting a lawyer". But it does not say that the "scandalizing" as they call it, was a blog post in this blog about the disgraceful conduct of one of their judges Belinda Ang Saw Ean titled "Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court" dated May 29, 2008.

Read the blog post yourself. Every single sentence written there is correct and I stand by it. And as for the words used "prostituting oneself" every single dictionary gives the meaning of the words as someone who abuses her authority or office for an improper purpose. There this judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean misused and defiled her office of a judge, to grant the decision to Lee Kuan Yew against Chee Soon Juan.

As for conduct not befitting a lawyer, they clearly avoid any details. Very convenient. I will tell you what they are. In one case I was accosted by some Lee Kuan Yew's thugs in plain clothes and claiming to be police officers claiming that I had knocked on their police car, and wanted to know who I was. Upon my refusal to cooperate, they arrest me causing me injuries, and charge me with hurling obscenities at them and behaving in a disorderly fashion, which the police officer at trial demonstrated as waving my arms! If you believe all that nonsense.

The other matters were another blog post written about another one of their Kangaroo Judges, Judith Prakash who coincidentally sends 3 young men to jail for wearing Tshirts with pictures of kangaroos on them (please see my earlier blogs on them) and for deliberately defying their court order not to criticize them anymore, as if such a court order demands any respect.

The this state controlled newspaper report says that I "was not present (in the Singapore court) even though he had been invited to defend himself". I am afraid once again they are conveniently hiding the truth. At present, there are many more events for which I could be arrested if I returned to Singapore. For one, I could be charged for contempt of court for deliberately defying their court order not to criticize after my return to the US. Second, I could be charged for writing the blog post about Judge Judtih Prakash which I wrote from the US. And third I had written countless blog posts criticizing their kangaroo judges and their legal system from the US.

This means of course that the moment I step into Singapore, I will be arrested again and charged with all these cases, thrown in jail and the key thrown away as well. You can appreciate that anyone with a head on his shoulders would not want to invite such an adventure.

If in fact they were serious of letting me defend myself in this case in Singapore, they would have given me the guarantee of safe passage in and out of Singapore which I had requested repeatedly from the Attorney general, Singapore Police, Minister for Law and the Singapore Law Society. If in fact they were concerned of this case being seen to be done fairly, the proper thing to do would have been to give me the guarantee that I had asked. They never replied to any of my letters.

You can see why anyone in their right minds would have avoided ever returning to Singapore under these circumstances.

And then they get their facts wrong too. They say I was sentenced to 3 months jail for "contempt of court". That is not correct. The sentence was for "insulting a judge", a law in their Penal Code, in this case Belinda Ang Saw Ean in my blog. Whether it is an insult or whether it is an accurate account of what happened is something you can judge for yourself.

As for my leaving Singapore for the US, they write "although he has stopped practicing here, he has remained on the rolls". This implies that I had deliberately maintained my status in Singapore. This again is another half truth. If one leaves the country or stops practicing, your name remains on the rolls in Singapore by default. I did nothing to facilitate it.

Then it says "he had also in 1992 been suspended from practicing law for 2 years for remarks about former attorney general Tan Boon Teik". Again another half truth. I had written 2 letters to him for an explanation relating to JB Jeyaretnam's request for a pardon. Nothing wrong in that, for which I was suspended for 2 years. The real reason for suspending me was of course to silence me and to destroy my career and remove me from politics. Please see my recent blog post here of July 23, 2011, titled "Law Society of Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, a demand for harsher punishment on July 25, 2011 trial because I continue to criticize" on the details of that matter.

Lastly the title itself is incorrect when it says "Lawyer gets life time ban for "scandalizing the courts"". This statement is true only as long as Lee Kuan Yew's dictatorship which uses the law as a political tool remains in power. From the way things are going in the island, I don't think it is going to take long before these Singaporean kangaroo judges are kicked out or Lee Kuan Yew and his government say by bye for good.

When that happens, I not only expect to be reinstated to the Rolls of Singapore lawyers, I would expect the new democratic government of the country to offer me honorary Singapore citizenship for the work I have done for the cause of freedom there.

And lastly, I have to thank Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore for taking all this trouble to have me disbarred. It is already headlines in the state controlled newspapers there, and this news will be reported in all radio and TV stations. This keeps the actions of Gopalan Nair against the Lee Kuan Yew government alive in the island. This helps to keep Gopalan Nair and my activism always fresh in the minds of Singaporeans. I may be an American citizen now, but I can assure you I will continue agitating for the cause of freedom in the island.

Thank you.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: [email protected]
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to [email protected] And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Posted by Gopalan Nair at <A class=timestamp-link title="permanent link" href="http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2011/07/singapore-gopalan-nair-disbarred-from.html" rel=bookmark target=_blank><ABBR class=published title=2011-07-24T22:29:00-07:00>10:29 PM</ABBR>




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