Who is Michael Fernandez? who wants to sue PAP govt

[†††††]

Who is Michael Fernandez?

MR MICHAEL Fernandez, 77, was a leftist who was a member of the University of Malaya Socialist Club from 1960 to 1962.

He later became a trade unionist and allegedly operated as part of the Communist United Front in the 1960s.

In June 1963, he joined the Naval Base Labour Union as its acting secretary-general. In October that year, he led 11,000 workers in a strike over issues such as overtime, annual leave and pay.

After leaving the union in 1964, he became the paid secretary of the Singapore Commercial House and Factory Employees' Union, and adviser to the Singapore European Employees' Union. In September 1964, he was detained under the Internal Security Act until 1973.

The Government accused him of being part of the Communist United Front (CUF), which supported the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), an underground organisation which used terror and violence to subvert the democratic process and overthrow the elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia.

The CUF was a key part of the CPM's strategy to infiltrate and exploit legally established organisations such as trade unions and student organisations to generate civil disorder, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a letter to The Straits Times Forum page in March 2006, in response to a report about Mr Fernandez and another former detainee.

Mr Fernandez maintains that he merely had socialist leanings and was championing workers' rights.

Mr Fernandez was detained again in 1977 for two months when he was implicated in statements by Mr G. Raman, a lawyer who at that time was detained and accused of being a Euro-Communist activist.

Since his release, Mr Fernandez has worked in insurance and education consultancy. He is married with four grown children.

FORMER Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Michael Fernandez wants to sue the Government for damages arising from alleged torture during the nine years he was in detention from 1963 to 1974.

His lawyer M. Ravi told The Straits Times he will file a writ of summons today with the High Court naming the attorney-general as the defendant.

He tried to file it yesterday, but it did not go through as the writ had omitted Mr Fernandez's address.

The Attorney-General's Chambers has eight days from the writ's submission to respond.

Mr Fernandez was a leftist union activist who, in October 1963, led a month-long strike involving 11,000 workers.

He was detained under the ISA the following year, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, for undermining the security, stability and economic well-being of Singapore.

In his writ, he claims unspecified damages for, among other things, 'pain and suffering', 'humiliation and loss of reputation', and future medical expenses.

The writ claims he was manhandled in several instances during the detention period, and sleep-deprived by guards.

It also claims he was force-fed, with officers handcuffing his hands behind his back and manacling his legs to a chair and 'forcing thick tubes down the plaintiff's throat'.

In 1971, Mr Fernandez went on a hunger strike for 135 days over poor living conditions and food rations.

The writ also alleges that his cell was not 'humanely habitable', with blood-spattered walls and pest infestations, and that he was not given adequate medical attention for physical injuries sustained from battery.

As a result, Mr Fernandez has suffered long-term side effects of his detention, according to the writ.

It claims he suffered from severe sleep disorders during and after his detention, frequent hallucinations of being strangled or choked to death and lumps on his stomach - the result of intense pinching by the prison authorities.

The writ bases its claim for damages on certain laws applicable at the time of Mr Fernandez's arrest, when Singapore was still a crown colony.

It states those laws as the Magna Carta of 1215, the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and Article 3 of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.

At a press conference held at Mr Ravi's law office in People's Park Centre yesterday, Mr Fernandez said he was taking action now because younger Singaporeans should be aware of the experiences that detainees went through.

He added: 'Secondly, I am now 77. Before I drop off, I think it is important for me to record my experiences and (that of) people like me, thousands of them, including Malaysians, as part of our struggle for democratic rights and justice.'

In a separate phone interview with The Straits Times later, Mr Fernandez said: 'The money would be useful, but it is the principle of the thing. The Government must compensate us for what it has done to us.'

He added that he was contemplating the idea of a class-action suit, but had not spoken to any former detainees yet.

This is not the first time Mr Fernandez has spoken out about his detention experience.

In 2006, he and fellow former detainee Tan Jing Quee talked about their experiences in detention at a public forum organised by theatre group The Necessary Stage.

Under the Limitation Act, any legal action claiming damages for personal injury must be brought within three years of the alleged incident, or three years from the earliest date when the plaintiff had the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages.

The same Act also states that other kinds of legal actions would have a time limit of six years from the alleged incident, or three years from the earliest date when the plaintiff had the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages.

[email protected]

 

[tonychat]

Good, i will forward donations to him.