SG judiciary on trial with home ground advantage

[suicidalpap]

SINGAPORE : The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has taken issue with 14 passages from a British writer's book which it said had called into question the integrity, impartiality and independence of the country's judiciary.

75-year-old Alan Shadrake is facing contempt of court charges over his book, "Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock".

He has denied any intention to scandalise the Singapore's judiciary.

Deputy Senior State Counsel, Hema Subramaniam told Justice Quentin Loh that the prosecution was only proceeding on these 14 statements.

She pointed out that some of them alleged that certain criminal proceedings in Singapore favoured the wealthy and the privileged.

She added that other passages insinuated that the judiciary was used by the ruling party to muzzle political dissent.

Ms Subramaniam also told the court there were other parts of the book that had alleged that the judiciary succumbed to political and economic pressure.

However, Shadrake's lawyer, M Ravi said that the AGC was "hypersensitive" to criticism and should "stop and relax".

He stressed that the book was not written as a mean-spirited piece against Singapore's judiciary.

Instead, he said that it was a serious minded and compassionate examination of the workings of the death penalty.

Besides contempt of court, which is punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine, Shadrake is also under investigation for criminal defamation.

If convicted of this, he could be jailed up to two years and fined.

Shadrake, who was arrested on July 18, a day after the book was launched, will be back in court on Tuesday.

 

[suicidalpap]

The referees are also its own people. I smell a kelong.

 

[Balancemind]

>>She added that other passages insinuated that the judiciary was used by the ruling party to muzzle political dissent.<<

Learned Dy Senior State Counsel must have not read http://www.int-bar.org/images/downloads/07_2008_July_Report_Singapore-Prosperity_versus_individual_rights.pdf a Report published by her International learned peers right after this country has lavishly hosted them in a Law Conference that our leadership is so proud of that even MM was of the view as claimed from the witness box where he was giving evidence to support his claim for damages in a defamation suit that it was not too much for them to compliment us for how world class our judiciary standard is but sadly it was not to be. On page 70 of that Report is the answer to that statement of learned Dy Senior State Counsel. To-date our Judiciary has yet to commence Contempt of Court proceedings against IBA for what they have stated therein.