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SINGAPORE - Two sides of law professor Tey Tsun Hang were on show during his sex-for-grades corruption trial yesterday.
The 41-year-old turned on the charm for Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye and was all smiles even to Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, but there was no love lost between him and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Wilson Khoo.
The two traded barbs throughout proceedings, as Tey attempted to portray himself as a victim of the bureau's heavy-handed tactics, which he claimed were used to force him to make statements while he was under medication.
Tey, who is conducting his own defence, faces six charges of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from his former National University of Singapore law student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, in exchange for improving her grades.
From the moment that Tey began his cross-examination of Mr Khoo, the two men went at each other.
Tey asserted repeatedly that he had been medically unfit when giving his statements to Mr Khoo, and questioned the fairness of records in the latter's investigation diary.
He referred to one such entry made at CPIB last April 4 by Mr Khoo as "a tendentious representation" of the situation, as it suggested he had been pretending to be ill.
Mr Khoo simply looked at Tey and replied: "I would like to request (that) the accused put his questions in simple English."
Undeterred, Tey rephrased, saying the particular entry was a "distorted representation" that put him in a negative light.
He added: "That (Tey) was play acting, he was trying to fool around, he was trying to bamboozle CPIB officers. Would that be clear to you, Mr Khoo?"
To which Mr Khoo replied: "I don't quite appreciate the bombastic language, but if the accused is asking me if I have written something that is not true, that was what I observed at that time."
To show that he was a man under duress, Tey claimed he sat on the floor instead of a bench in the CPIB interview room. He said the bench was "a small wooden plank that causes discomfort when a person is in a fragile condition".
To which, Mr Khoo said: "A bench is a bench."
He rejected Tey's claim that he was in such a condition.
Tey then alleged that at one point, he was subject to verbal abuse by another CPIB officer with "black-rimmed spectacles".
Dramatising the exchange in court, Tey changed his voice and yelled: "You were a f****** district judge before, why are you now sitting on the floor? Get back on the f****** bench!"
Mr Khoo simply replied: "I do not wear black-rimmed spectacles."
Tey also brought up the examples of him being body-searched at CPIB and being handcuffed at one point in hospital to bolster his argument that he had been treated harshly by Mr Khoo.
Mr Khoo, however, maintained that such searches were part of the bureau's protocol, and he had been handcuffed last April 2 only after a nurse at Alexandra Hospital expressed her concern about the safety of her colleagues.
Mr Khoo maintained throughout his testimony that Tey was not in a fragile state and only "seemed weary". He suggested that Tey had been clear-minded and deliberate in some of his actions.
For example, while recording Tey's statement last April 5, Mr Khoo said Tey "repeatedly" asked him to list all the sexual encounters and gifts he had allegedly received to "help him recall them".
"Your Honour, he was being overly cooperative because no accused person would be so actively volunteering such information," said Mr Khoo.
But while clearly antagonistic towards Mr Khoo, Tey decided to turn on the charm when addressing Justice Tan and the prosecutors.
At the beginning of the trial yesterday, for example, Tey apologised to the judge, seemingly for no reason.
"If I have appeared over-zealous or if I have spent too much time on the past few days on certain issues which I thought were critical to the defence, I seek Your Honour's understanding and beg Your Honour's pardon," he said.
When proceedings resumed after lunch, Tey expressed his "deep gratitude" towards the prosecution for their patience with him. This was a turnaround given the strongly worded spat he had with the DPP earlier in the day.
At the end of the day, a smiling Tey bowed to Justice Tan, almost hitting his forehead against the dock. He wished the judge a good weekend, given the "very stressful and intense week".
The trial continues on Monday.
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The 41-year-old turned on the charm for Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye and was all smiles even to Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, but there was no love lost between him and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Wilson Khoo.
The two traded barbs throughout proceedings, as Tey attempted to portray himself as a victim of the bureau's heavy-handed tactics, which he claimed were used to force him to make statements while he was under medication.
Tey, who is conducting his own defence, faces six charges of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from his former National University of Singapore law student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, in exchange for improving her grades.
From the moment that Tey began his cross-examination of Mr Khoo, the two men went at each other.
Tey asserted repeatedly that he had been medically unfit when giving his statements to Mr Khoo, and questioned the fairness of records in the latter's investigation diary.
He referred to one such entry made at CPIB last April 4 by Mr Khoo as "a tendentious representation" of the situation, as it suggested he had been pretending to be ill.
Mr Khoo simply looked at Tey and replied: "I would like to request (that) the accused put his questions in simple English."
Undeterred, Tey rephrased, saying the particular entry was a "distorted representation" that put him in a negative light.
He added: "That (Tey) was play acting, he was trying to fool around, he was trying to bamboozle CPIB officers. Would that be clear to you, Mr Khoo?"
To which Mr Khoo replied: "I don't quite appreciate the bombastic language, but if the accused is asking me if I have written something that is not true, that was what I observed at that time."
To show that he was a man under duress, Tey claimed he sat on the floor instead of a bench in the CPIB interview room. He said the bench was "a small wooden plank that causes discomfort when a person is in a fragile condition".
To which, Mr Khoo said: "A bench is a bench."
He rejected Tey's claim that he was in such a condition.
Tey then alleged that at one point, he was subject to verbal abuse by another CPIB officer with "black-rimmed spectacles".
Dramatising the exchange in court, Tey changed his voice and yelled: "You were a f****** district judge before, why are you now sitting on the floor? Get back on the f****** bench!"
Mr Khoo simply replied: "I do not wear black-rimmed spectacles."
Tey also brought up the examples of him being body-searched at CPIB and being handcuffed at one point in hospital to bolster his argument that he had been treated harshly by Mr Khoo.
Mr Khoo, however, maintained that such searches were part of the bureau's protocol, and he had been handcuffed last April 2 only after a nurse at Alexandra Hospital expressed her concern about the safety of her colleagues.
Mr Khoo maintained throughout his testimony that Tey was not in a fragile state and only "seemed weary". He suggested that Tey had been clear-minded and deliberate in some of his actions.
For example, while recording Tey's statement last April 5, Mr Khoo said Tey "repeatedly" asked him to list all the sexual encounters and gifts he had allegedly received to "help him recall them".
"Your Honour, he was being overly cooperative because no accused person would be so actively volunteering such information," said Mr Khoo.
But while clearly antagonistic towards Mr Khoo, Tey decided to turn on the charm when addressing Justice Tan and the prosecutors.
At the beginning of the trial yesterday, for example, Tey apologised to the judge, seemingly for no reason.
"If I have appeared over-zealous or if I have spent too much time on the past few days on certain issues which I thought were critical to the defence, I seek Your Honour's understanding and beg Your Honour's pardon," he said.
When proceedings resumed after lunch, Tey expressed his "deep gratitude" towards the prosecution for their patience with him. This was a turnaround given the strongly worded spat he had with the DPP earlier in the day.
At the end of the day, a smiling Tey bowed to Justice Tan, almost hitting his forehead against the dock. He wished the judge a good weekend, given the "very stressful and intense week".
The trial continues on Monday.
[email protected]
[email protected]
