Workers' Party member James Gomez has been let off with a stern warning for threatening an Elections Department officer.
Police said that after reviewing the evidence, the Public Prosecutor was satisfied that Mr Gomez had committed the offence of using threatening words towards a public servant.
It said that statements given by Mr Gomez contained several serious inconsistencies, which together with statements of other parties, put into question the real truth.
However, police considered the circumstances of the case, including Mr Gomez's willingness to cooperate with the Police, and the absence of any previous criminal records.
The Public Prosecutor decided that a stern warning be given to Mr Gomez instead.
The offence would have been punishable with a fine of up to $5,000, or a jail term of up to one year.
The Elections Department had lodged a police report last week (6 May) against Mr Gomez who had claimed he had filed an application for a minority certificate when in fact he had not.
Mr Gomez had warned an officer of "consequences" when the officer could not find any application of his for a certificate. - CNA/ir
So basically we can hold anyone for a few days, never actually charge them with any violation, release them and claim that they are guilty of the alleged offence without ever charging them or taking them to court for the alleged offence.
Police Harassment! over the word 'consequences'!
Get MM Lee in for calling Gomez a 'liar', get Mini-Lee in for 'fixing' oppositon MPs.
"willingness to cooperate with the Police"
ReplyDeleteDidn't Nyugen cooperate too??
are you saying anyone who cooperates would get off? of course looking at death sentence would make you cooperative
ReplyDeletewhy distract yourself with irrelevant issues
pls don't just look at death sentence per se. Wouldn't clemency appeal have to look at other factors too besides the main issue??
ReplyDeleteFrom Yawning Bread -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yawningbread.org/
The deadly embrace of politics
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PAP MP accused of unprofessional legal conduct while he was MP
Another case that puts our domestic media in very bad light is that of lawyer Ahmad Khalis Abdul Ghani. It was reported on 11 May 2006 that he is scheduled to appear before a Court of Three Judges over allegations of unprofessional conduct.
He has been accused of giving "false assurances", a role in "breach of trust" and "suppressing relevant evidence", according to the Straits Times. All this was in relation to his client's family dispute about the ownership of a piece of property.
Ahmad Khalis was the People's Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament for Hong Kah. He first entered Parliament in 2001, but when the 2006 elections approached, it was announced that he would "retire" due to "work commitments".
It is very unusual for PAP MPs to serve just one term, but typically, our media didn't investigate. Now it's revealed that a complaint against him had been lodged with the Law Society in April 2003 and a hearing was conducted in October 2004, which "culminated in the recent decision to bring the former MP to the High Court".
The Straits Times didn't say when that decision was reached.
It's extremely suspicious. One finds it very hard to believe that nobody delayed the news until the elections were over. Did the newspaper know about it and not report it?
If the newspaper didn't know, did the Law Society hold back on announcing its decision?
Did the PAP know that Ahmad Khalis was under a cloud when it said that he wasn't standing for reelection because of "work commitments"? Does the PAP understand the expression "work commitments" to include facing charges? "
I think many who have symphathised with Gomez, as well as those who have signed the petition will know the ultimate objective was to help Gomez avoid prosecution.
ReplyDeleteIt is a victory, even if the police statements seem a little incongruous. Pursuing this any further isn't going to do anyone any good, and will lose the opposition factions any political currency they have gained over the course of this incident.
It is really time to move on.
- Impassioned Singaporean
Yes, because now it would be worth to have a look why MMLee can label anyone to anything, e.g. 'Liar' and threaten people, or PM threaten people to 'Fix them', and nothing happens, while on the other side you will be held back and investigated for days for a single word.
ReplyDeleteyes it is time to move on, like retire
ReplyDeleteThose uniformed goons were puppets on a string. What choice do they have. They have to help LKY save face. Even the best spin-doctor couldn't help LKY now. Of course they then need to try justifying stopping James Gomez at the airport. Everybody knew Section 506 & 507 were inappropriate in the first place.
ReplyDelete