From the US Department of State
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 6, 2007
Singapore is a parliamentary republic in which the People's Action Party (PAP), in power since 1959, overwhelmingly dominates politics. The population was approximately 4.35 million, with foreign workers accounting for nearly one fifth of the total. Opposition parties exist, and parliamentary elections take place at regular, constitutionally mandated intervals (most recently in May). The PAP holds 82 of 84 elected parliamentary seats and all ministerial positions. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government has broad powers to limit citizens' rights and to handicap political opposition, which it used. Caning is an allowable punishment for numerous offenses. The following human rights problems were reported: preventive detention, executive influence over the judiciary, infringement of citizens' privacy rights, restriction of speech and press freedom and the practice of self-censorship by journalists, restriction of freedom of assembly and freedom of association, some restriction of freedom of religion, and some trafficking in persons.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, and the government generally respected these prohibitions. On February 9, an inmate held in a courthouse cell claimed a policeman punched him twice when the inmate was found smoking and in possession of cigarettes and a lighter. The inmate was sent for a medical examination and filed charges against the policeman. The subordinate courts found the accused policeman guilty on March 29 and on April 4 sentenced him to four months in jail.
The penal code mandates caning, in addition to imprisonment, as punishment for approximately 30 offenses involving violence, such as rape and robbery, and for nonviolent offenses such as vandalism, drug trafficking, and violation of immigration laws. Caning is discretionary for convictions on other charges involving the use of force, such as kidnapping or voluntarily causing grievous hurt. All women, men over age 50 or under age 16, and anyone determined medically unfit are exempt from punishment by caning. During the year 5,984 convicted persons were sentenced to caning. Approximately 95 percent of caning sentences were carried out.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison conditions, while Spartan, generally met international standards.
The government did not allow human rights monitors to visit prisons; however, diplomatic representatives were given consular access to citizens of their countries.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
The police are responsible for routine security within the country and for border protection, including action against illegal immigrants. The Internal Security Act (ISA) authorizes the Internal Security Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs to counter perceived threats to the nation's security such as espionage, international terrorism, threats to racial and religious harmony, and subversion. The police force was well trained and highly disciplined. Corruption was not a problem, and the police effectively maintained internal law and order. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, an independent agency under the Prime Minister's Office, investigates all allegations of corruption including police corruption. Allegations of criminal offenses by police officers are investigated either by a police division other than the unit to which the accused are assigned or, in cases involving complaints of serious misconduct, by the Internal Investigation Division at police headquarters.
Arrest and Detention
The law provides that, in most instances, arrests are to be carried out after issuance of an authorized warrant; however, some laws, such as the ISA, provide for arrests without warrants. Those arrested under warrants must be charged before a magistrate within 48 hours. The majority of those arrested were charged expeditiously and brought to trial. A functioning bail system exists, but no commercial bail bond services were available. Those who face criminal charges are allowed counsel; however, there was no access to counsel during an initial arrest and investigation before charges were filed. The Law Society administered a legal aid plan for those who could not afford to hire an attorney. In death penalty cases, the Supreme Court appoints two attorneys for defendants who are unable to afford their own counsel.
Some laws--the ISA, the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLA), the Misuse of Drugs Act (the drug act), and the Undesirable Publications Act (UPA)--have provisions for arrest and detention without a warrant or judicial review. The ISA has been employed primarily against suspected security threats. In the past, these threats were Communist related; however, in recent years, the ISA has been employed against suspected terrorists. The CLA has been employed primarily against suspected organized crime and drug trafficking.
The ISA and the CLA permit preventive detention without trial for the protection of public security, safety, or the maintenance of public order. The ISA gives broad discretion to the minister for home affairs, at the direction of the president, to order detention without filing charges if it is determined that a person poses a threat to national security. The initial detention may be for up to two years and may be renewed without limitation for additional periods of up to two years at a time. Detainees have a right to be informed of the grounds for their detention and are entitled to counsel. However, they have no right to challenge the substantive basis for their detention through the courts. The ISA specifically excludes recourse to the normal judicial system for review of a detention order made under its authority. Instead, detainees may make representations to an advisory board, headed by a Supreme Court justice, which reviews each detainee's case periodically and must make a recommendation to the president within three months of the initial detention. The president may concur with the advisory board's recommendation that a detainee be released prior to the expiration of the detention order, but he is not obligated to do so.
At year's end, 34 detainees were being held under the ISA as suspected terrorists. Of these detainees, 31 were suspected of belonging to the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and three were suspected of membership in the Philippines based Moro Islamic Liberation Front. In January Indonesian authorities arrested Mas Selamat Kastari, alleged leader of the Singapore branch of JI, and deported him to Singapore where he was detained under the ISA.
At year's end, 26 others were on restriction orders (ROs); this number included both released detainees and suspected terrorists who were never arrested. A person subject to an RO must seek official approval for a change of address or occupation, for overseas travel, or for participation in any public organization or activity.
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9 Mar 2007
To Blog or Not to Blog in Singapore
By Alex Au at Asia Times Online
SINGAPORE - When Time magazine named "You" as its Person of the Year for 2006, the award was particularly apt in the case of Singapore.
Last year, Singapore's bloggers and Web-based writers signaled that they were a force to be reckoned with. And in a state where government control over the mainstream media has been a fact of life for more than four decades, Singapore's freewheeling blogosphere is set to have significant political and social ramifications.
In a poll conducted last year by the state-run Media Development Authority (MDA), it was found that half of all teens between the ages of 15 and 19 maintained a weblog. About 46% of the next age bracket of 20-to-24-year-olds did likewise. Many of Singapore's blogs are relatively innocuous diary-type spaces, including the popular Xiaxue (xiaxue.blogspot.com). But others, such as "Mr Wang Says So" (mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com) and independent filmmaker Martyn See's "No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans" (www.singaporerebel.com), take on hard social and political issues.
It's still altogether unclear what direction the Internet revolution will take in Singapore. While there have been few moves toward legally protecting Internet-based writers, there haven't yet been any official signs of a comprehensive clampdown, despite an accelerating migration of readers from the traditional media to the digital medium. Freedom of expression over the Internet is being put to the test in neighboring Malaysia, where two bloggers are being sued for their postings by the politically influenced New Straits Times newspaper.
The Singaporean authorities have been stealthier in their tactics. Some of Singapore's veteran bloggers remain wary of the so-called Sintercom saga of 2001. In the months leading up to that year's general elections, the MDA insisted that the politically oriented Sintercom website register with it for "engaging in the propagation, promotion or discussion of political issues relating to Singapore".
Once registered, Sintercom editors could have conceivably been criminally liable for content posted on the site, should the government or senior politicians happen to have taken affront. Instead of complying with the heavy-handed order, and considering the country's long track record of politicians resorting to prohibitive criminal and costly civil lawsuits to stifle criticism, Sintercom instead opted to close itself down.
Many wondered whether 2006 would see a replay, or worse, of that experience, particularly considering the more recent proliferation of politically oriented websites and blogs. Last April, Lee Boon Yang, the minister for information, communication and the arts, fired a warning shot at all Singapore bloggers when he told the semi-official Straits Times: "To help bring some order to this chaotic environment, we have made it a requirement for political parties and individuals who use websites to propagate or promote political issues to register with the MDA."
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SINGAPORE - When Time magazine named "You" as its Person of the Year for 2006, the award was particularly apt in the case of Singapore.
Last year, Singapore's bloggers and Web-based writers signaled that they were a force to be reckoned with. And in a state where government control over the mainstream media has been a fact of life for more than four decades, Singapore's freewheeling blogosphere is set to have significant political and social ramifications.
In a poll conducted last year by the state-run Media Development Authority (MDA), it was found that half of all teens between the ages of 15 and 19 maintained a weblog. About 46% of the next age bracket of 20-to-24-year-olds did likewise. Many of Singapore's blogs are relatively innocuous diary-type spaces, including the popular Xiaxue (xiaxue.blogspot.com). But others, such as "Mr Wang Says So" (mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com) and independent filmmaker Martyn See's "No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans" (www.singaporerebel.com), take on hard social and political issues.
It's still altogether unclear what direction the Internet revolution will take in Singapore. While there have been few moves toward legally protecting Internet-based writers, there haven't yet been any official signs of a comprehensive clampdown, despite an accelerating migration of readers from the traditional media to the digital medium. Freedom of expression over the Internet is being put to the test in neighboring Malaysia, where two bloggers are being sued for their postings by the politically influenced New Straits Times newspaper.
The Singaporean authorities have been stealthier in their tactics. Some of Singapore's veteran bloggers remain wary of the so-called Sintercom saga of 2001. In the months leading up to that year's general elections, the MDA insisted that the politically oriented Sintercom website register with it for "engaging in the propagation, promotion or discussion of political issues relating to Singapore".
Once registered, Sintercom editors could have conceivably been criminally liable for content posted on the site, should the government or senior politicians happen to have taken affront. Instead of complying with the heavy-handed order, and considering the country's long track record of politicians resorting to prohibitive criminal and costly civil lawsuits to stifle criticism, Sintercom instead opted to close itself down.
Many wondered whether 2006 would see a replay, or worse, of that experience, particularly considering the more recent proliferation of politically oriented websites and blogs. Last April, Lee Boon Yang, the minister for information, communication and the arts, fired a warning shot at all Singapore bloggers when he told the semi-official Straits Times: "To help bring some order to this chaotic environment, we have made it a requirement for political parties and individuals who use websites to propagate or promote political issues to register with the MDA."
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Family Guy on Christianity
Some Friday fun from Family Guy via youtube. A 4 minute compilation of Family Guy references to Christianity including God and Jesus. Probably offensive to some.
My personal favourite is the clip with Jesus and Moses defeating the Romans closely followed by the floating bag.
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My personal favourite is the clip with Jesus and Moses defeating the Romans closely followed by the floating bag.
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More than respect for the rights of women
Central to human rights is the concept of equal treatment. Human rights laws are based on the premise that everyone is equal. In particular it means that no-one should be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, religion or disability.
This International Women's Day 2007, Think Centre poses the following questions to Singaporeans:
- Is there a Fair Deal for all Women Workers?
After 42 years of independence and ratification of the CEDAW in 1995, women’s pay is still nearly 30% lower than men’s in Singapore. This persistent injustice prevents women in our society from reaching their full potential, and contributes to poverty in old age for many women who have worked hard all their lives.
It is unacceptable in a first-world country that there is a pay gap between men and women performing equivalent work. It is time for the "Equality Act" and a "Living Wage Act" so that all women are respect and are not force to work at old age. There should be no hiding places in Singapore for such blatant discrimination.
- Is Maternity Leave a right not to be bargained or subjugated with?
We should address the problem of families headed by single mothers without discrimination. It is blatant discrimination and violation of both international labour rights and CEDAW, by requiring that single mothers must marry the child's father within three months of the birth to qualify for the 12 weeks maternity leave.
All working women regardless of their marital status should have the right to 12 weeks maternity leave - why is there a criteria of marriage? In practice, single mothers are not entitled to maternity leave and only married mothers were entitled to maternity leave.
- Are conservative mind-sets and practices impairing governemnt policies?
With high divorce rate and no babies in sight - why is the government enforcing such conservative practices? For example, requiring young citizens to get married before they qualify to buy a HDB flat. This only encourages materialism and consumerism. Thus, many young couples get married to qualify for the flat but their materialistic and consumeristic lifestyle does not encourage babies.
- Is there enough respect and recognition for female foreign domestic workers?
Singapore should recognize domestic work under labour law and provide adequate protection for all domestic workers. There is pay inequality and discrimination based on nationality or country of origin. Under the labour law all workers are to be paid their salary monthly or forthnightly. But there is a loophole as domestic work is not recognized under Singapore's labour law.
As such, Think Centre calls on the tripartism of government, employers and unions to:
- ensure all women workers get fair treatment and equal pay at work
- developed an equal pay strategy to challenge pay discrimination
- ensure equal treatment for all women workers
- fair and just treatment of all single women who are supporting themselves and their child, even ageing parents
- address the need for fairness in pay schemes, provide quality part-time work and greater support for working parents
Let us remake Singapore not only into a global vibrant city, but also an open and inclusive society which is more caring towards expectant females, single mothers and aged women. Together, we can do more than respect for the rights of women!
8th March 2007
Think Centre
Posted by Charles Tan
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This International Women's Day 2007, Think Centre poses the following questions to Singaporeans:
- Is there a Fair Deal for all Women Workers?
After 42 years of independence and ratification of the CEDAW in 1995, women’s pay is still nearly 30% lower than men’s in Singapore. This persistent injustice prevents women in our society from reaching their full potential, and contributes to poverty in old age for many women who have worked hard all their lives.
It is unacceptable in a first-world country that there is a pay gap between men and women performing equivalent work. It is time for the "Equality Act" and a "Living Wage Act" so that all women are respect and are not force to work at old age. There should be no hiding places in Singapore for such blatant discrimination.
- Is Maternity Leave a right not to be bargained or subjugated with?
We should address the problem of families headed by single mothers without discrimination. It is blatant discrimination and violation of both international labour rights and CEDAW, by requiring that single mothers must marry the child's father within three months of the birth to qualify for the 12 weeks maternity leave.
All working women regardless of their marital status should have the right to 12 weeks maternity leave - why is there a criteria of marriage? In practice, single mothers are not entitled to maternity leave and only married mothers were entitled to maternity leave.
- Are conservative mind-sets and practices impairing governemnt policies?
With high divorce rate and no babies in sight - why is the government enforcing such conservative practices? For example, requiring young citizens to get married before they qualify to buy a HDB flat. This only encourages materialism and consumerism. Thus, many young couples get married to qualify for the flat but their materialistic and consumeristic lifestyle does not encourage babies.
- Is there enough respect and recognition for female foreign domestic workers?
Singapore should recognize domestic work under labour law and provide adequate protection for all domestic workers. There is pay inequality and discrimination based on nationality or country of origin. Under the labour law all workers are to be paid their salary monthly or forthnightly. But there is a loophole as domestic work is not recognized under Singapore's labour law.
As such, Think Centre calls on the tripartism of government, employers and unions to:
- ensure all women workers get fair treatment and equal pay at work
- developed an equal pay strategy to challenge pay discrimination
- ensure equal treatment for all women workers
- fair and just treatment of all single women who are supporting themselves and their child, even ageing parents
- address the need for fairness in pay schemes, provide quality part-time work and greater support for working parents
Let us remake Singapore not only into a global vibrant city, but also an open and inclusive society which is more caring towards expectant females, single mothers and aged women. Together, we can do more than respect for the rights of women!
8th March 2007
Think Centre
Posted by Charles Tan
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8 Mar 2007
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
From Youtube
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interviewed On Channel 4
Submission by Theo van Gogh/Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Click on the link to watch the video.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interviewed On Channel 4
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Somali: Ayaan Xirsi Cali; born Ayaan Hirsi Magan 13 November 1969[1] in Mogadishu, Somalia) is a Dutch feminist and political writer, daughter of the Somali warlord Hirsi Magan Isse. When she was six, her family left Somalia, eventually settling in Kenya. She sought and obtained political asylum in the Netherlands in 1992 — under circumstances that later became the center of a political controversy.
She is a prominent and controversial author, film maker, atheist, and critic of Islam, and Christianity. She was a member of the Tweede Kamer (the Lower House of the States-General of the Netherlands) for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from January 30, 2003 until May 16, 2006. A political crisis surrounding her Dutch citizenship led to her resignation from the parliament, and indirectly to the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet.
She has received numerous awards for her human rights work, and in 2005, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is currently a fellow at the think tank American Enterprise Institute.
[...]
Hirsi Ali wrote the script and provided the voice-over for Submission,[7] a film directed by Theo van Gogh, which criticized the treatment of women in Islamic society. One woman was provocatively dressed in a semi-transparent burqa, under which texts from the Qur'an were projected on her skin. The texts referred to the subordinate role of women. Other women in the film showed signs of physical abuse. The film's release sparked much controversy, and became violent when radical Islamist Mohammed Bouyeri, a member of the Hofstad Group, murdered Van Gogh in an Amsterdam street on November 2, 2004. A letter attached to Van Gogh's body with a knife was primarily a death threat to Hirsi Ali. After this incident, the Dutch secret service raised the level of security that they provided to her.[8] Hirsi Ali has said that although she deeply regrets the murder of van Gogh, she is proud of the film and does not regret having made it. "To feel otherwise would be to deny everything I stand for." [9]
Submission by Theo van Gogh/Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Click on the link to watch the video.
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Illegal drugs can be harmless, report says
How do you scare a 'drug dealer'?
Thought the following study might have some relevance to a country that hangs drug traffickers. My own personal views aside the least it can do is start a debate about the taboo topic of 'drug-taking'. I once brought the topic of the legalisation of drugs as a policy in Singapore during a conversation, those present shall of course remain anonymous to protect the guilty, but those who argued most vehemently against such a proposal where those who had the greatest insider knowledge and investment in 'the business' - I am not refering to pharmacists.
Threaten to legalise drugs.
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Thought the following study might have some relevance to a country that hangs drug traffickers. My own personal views aside the least it can do is start a debate about the taboo topic of 'drug-taking'. I once brought the topic of the legalisation of drugs as a policy in Singapore during a conversation, those present shall of course remain anonymous to protect the guilty, but those who argued most vehemently against such a proposal where those who had the greatest insider knowledge and investment in 'the business' - I am not refering to pharmacists.
Threaten to legalise drugs.
Press Association
Thursday March 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
An RSA report out today says drugs can be harmless and recommends introduction of drug injecting rooms. Photograph: PA.
Illegal drugs can be "harmless" and should no longer be "demonised", a wide-ranging two-year study concluded today.
The report said Britain's drug laws were "not fit for purpose" and should be torn up in favour of a system which recognised that drinking and smoking could cause more harm.
The RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs ,set up in January 2005, also called for the main focus of drugs education to be shifted from secondary to primary schools and recommended the introduction of so-called "shooting galleries" - rooms where users can inject drugs.
The report, compiled by a panel of academics, politicians, drugs workers, journalists and a senior police officer, also called for the Home Office to be stripped of its lead role in drugs policy.
It recommended the Misuse of Drugs Act be scrapped in favour of a wider-ranging Misuse of Substances Act, and the current ABC classification system be abandoned in favour of an "index of harms".
Current laws, the panel claimed, were been "driven by moral panic" with large amounts of money wasted on "futile" efforts to stop supply rather than going after the criminal networks behind the drugs on British streets.
At the heart of the report was a call for an end to what the panel called the "criminal justice bias" of current policy in favour of an approach that would treat addiction as a health and social problem rather than simply a cause of crime.
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Singapore: Chee writes to Chief Justice about summary judgment without presence of defence counsel
8 March 2007Mr Chan Sek Keong
Chief Justice
Supreme Court
Singapore
Dear Sir,
I would like to draw your attention to some disturbing goings-on during a hearing regarding the lawsuit of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (plaintiffs) versus the Singapore Democratic Party, Chee Siok Chin and yours truly (defendants).
We appeared before Judge Belinda Ang on the morning of 11 September 2006 to hear the application by the plaintiffs for summary judgement. This, as you know, was conducted in chambers without the media and the public allowed in.
Our lawyer, M Ravi was not able to be present because he was medically unfit. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Davinder Singh SC (a former PAP member of parliament), insisted, however, that this was "nothing more than another attempt to delay the Order 14 applications."
We tried to explain the situation but having little knowledge of Ravi's condition, it was difficult for us to provide details. All we knew at that time was that he was suffering from the effects of mental and physical exhaustion.
The judge gave us a few hours to produce a medical certificate (MC) for Ravi by the afternoon. We managed to get an MC from a dentist that gave our counsel rest for one day. Ravi had been complaining of a headache resulting from gum problems. It was already in the afternoon when we presented the MC to the Judge, who then adjourned the matter to the following morning of 12 September 2007.
We met Ravi on the morning of 12 September and we could see that he was in no fit state to come to court to argue our case. We informed Judge Belinda Ang of the circumstances and asked for more time for Ravi to recover.
Singh again accused us of being "devious", hatching a "new ploy" to "manipulate" the court process. We rejected these accusations and pleaded for more time.
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6 Mar 2007
Jesus Camp
Below is an article by Reuters which sites a number of individuals proclaiming to be of the Islamic faith 'as a new security threat to the city-state'. The internet therefore seems to be deemed the New BattleField to protect the lives and minds of the Singaporean citizen.
The years I spent in Singapore introduced me to a large number of individuals who hailed from numerous religions. We would engage in debate and very often we found common ground. But there was always one group who wanted to know if I had 'heard the good news'. Having attended various religious schools while growing up I could always answer 'yes of course I have'. Then quickly make my exit. Those who didn't take that as a hint to stop their attempts at converting me usually left feeling a little less certain in their faith.
Singapore may face a plot from those who wish to cause physical harm but there is a deeper and more insidious danger already within its borders. The 'happy-clappers' have been fighting their own ideological battle for decades in many countries. So sighting Islam as the only religion that contains an ideology that runs counter to Singapore's safety is rather simplistic.
If nothing else the Evangelical Church are a threat to Singapore's ambition to socialise children who might one day lead the Scientific Hub that many wish to see.
Jesus Camp below should put a cold chill down your spine...
Spotted on Bad Science
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The years I spent in Singapore introduced me to a large number of individuals who hailed from numerous religions. We would engage in debate and very often we found common ground. But there was always one group who wanted to know if I had 'heard the good news'. Having attended various religious schools while growing up I could always answer 'yes of course I have'. Then quickly make my exit. Those who didn't take that as a hint to stop their attempts at converting me usually left feeling a little less certain in their faith.
Singapore may face a plot from those who wish to cause physical harm but there is a deeper and more insidious danger already within its borders. The 'happy-clappers' have been fighting their own ideological battle for decades in many countries. So sighting Islam as the only religion that contains an ideology that runs counter to Singapore's safety is rather simplistic.
If nothing else the Evangelical Church are a threat to Singapore's ambition to socialise children who might one day lead the Scientific Hub that many wish to see.
Jesus Camp below should put a cold chill down your spine...
Spotted on Bad Science
Singapore cites net militia threat
Correspondents in Singapore
MARCH 05, 2007
A BREED of "self-radicalised individuals" who absorbed militant ideas through the internet have emerged as a new security threat to the city-state, Singapore's interior minister said.
Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said the government had investigated "a few" Singaporeans who have been influenced by radical Islamic ideas they read from the internet, local media quoted him as saying in parliament.
There are about 6,000 websites in cyberspace promoting militant ideologies, a situation that is breeding a group of "self-radicalised individuals" who can pose a danger to their societies Wong, one of two deputy prime ministers, said.
"The Internal Security Department has investigated a few Singaporeans who had become attracted to terrorist and radical ideas purveyed in the mass media, particularly the internet," he said.
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Law Society of Singapore v Ravi Madasamy
[2007] SGHC 20
Suit No: OS 1361/2006, SUM 3522/2006
Decision Date: 13 Feb 2007
Court: High Court
Coram: Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA, Chan Sek Keong CJ, Judith Prakash J
Counsel: Mirza Namazie and Chua Boon Beng (Mallal & Namazie) for the applicant, The respondent in person
Judgment
13 February 2007
Chan Sek Keong CJ (delivering the grounds of decision of the court):
1 This was an application by the Law Society of Singapore (“the Law Society”) under s 98 of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 2001 Rev Ed) (“the Act”) for Mr Ravi Madasamy (“the respondent”), an advocate and solicitor of seven years’ standing, to show cause why he should not be dealt with under s 83(1) of the Act.
The amended charge
2 The amended charge made against the respondent before the Law Society’s Disciplinary Committee (“DC”) (“the amended Charge”) reads as follows:
That Ravi Madasamy is guilty of such misconduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor, as an officer of the Supreme Court, or as a member of an honourable profession within the meaning of Section 83(2)(h) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161) in that on the morning of 9th October 2003 at Court 26, Subordinate Courts, Havelock Road, Ravi Madasamy failed to act with due courtesy to the District Judge Wong Choon Ning before whom he was appearing by:-
a) turning his back on the said District Judge while being addressed;
b) remaining seated while being addressed by the said District Judge;
c) speaking in loud tones to the Prosecuting Officer whilst mention cases were being carried out, thereby interfering with the court proceedings;
d) responding to the said District Judge in an unbecoming manner.
3 Having heard the submissions of the respective parties, we granted the Law Society’s application at the conclusion of the hearing and ordered that the respondent be suspended from practice for a period of one year and bear the costs of the application. We now give the reasons for our decision.
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Suit No: OS 1361/2006, SUM 3522/2006
Decision Date: 13 Feb 2007
Court: High Court
Coram: Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA, Chan Sek Keong CJ, Judith Prakash J
Counsel: Mirza Namazie and Chua Boon Beng (Mallal & Namazie) for the applicant, The respondent in person
Judgment
13 February 2007
Chan Sek Keong CJ (delivering the grounds of decision of the court):
1 This was an application by the Law Society of Singapore (“the Law Society”) under s 98 of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 2001 Rev Ed) (“the Act”) for Mr Ravi Madasamy (“the respondent”), an advocate and solicitor of seven years’ standing, to show cause why he should not be dealt with under s 83(1) of the Act.
The amended charge
2 The amended charge made against the respondent before the Law Society’s Disciplinary Committee (“DC”) (“the amended Charge”) reads as follows:
That Ravi Madasamy is guilty of such misconduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor, as an officer of the Supreme Court, or as a member of an honourable profession within the meaning of Section 83(2)(h) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161) in that on the morning of 9th October 2003 at Court 26, Subordinate Courts, Havelock Road, Ravi Madasamy failed to act with due courtesy to the District Judge Wong Choon Ning before whom he was appearing by:-
a) turning his back on the said District Judge while being addressed;
b) remaining seated while being addressed by the said District Judge;
c) speaking in loud tones to the Prosecuting Officer whilst mention cases were being carried out, thereby interfering with the court proceedings;
d) responding to the said District Judge in an unbecoming manner.
3 Having heard the submissions of the respective parties, we granted the Law Society’s application at the conclusion of the hearing and ordered that the respondent be suspended from practice for a period of one year and bear the costs of the application. We now give the reasons for our decision.
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Singapore and Thailand Situation Deteriorates
The station was once owned by Thaksin ShinawatraThailand TV station taken over
The Thai government has announced that it will take over the country's only main independent TV station, iTV, after it failed to pay unpaid fees.
The station was once owned by ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who sold it to Singapore-based firm Temasek in 2006.
The broadcaster had until Tuesday to pay nearly 100bn baht ($2.9bn) in fines and unpaid fees, after losing a legal battle.
But iTV had already admitted it had no hope of finding the money required.
The station - which has no links with the British broadcasting network of the same name - will be shut down temporarily from Wednesday.
The takeover was widely expected after the government announced last week that it would terminate iTV's licence if it failed to meet Tuesday's payment deadline.
"The iTV station will be shut down from 7 March until there is clarity on legal issues," said Dhipawadee Meksawan, a minister at the prime minister's office.
Shin Corp, which was founded by Mr Thaksin and held a 53% stake in iTV, was bought last year by the Singapore-based firm Temasek.
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