more update news on gopalan

Singapore News // Friday, June 6, 2008

Nair out on bail, hopes to leave
He has mattersto settle in US,lawyer tells court


Teo Xuanwei


xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg


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ONE of the first things that former Singaporean lawyer and ex-Workers’ Party (WP) election candidate Gopalan Nair (picture) hoped to do after he was released on bail yesterday was to return to the United States to settle some personal affairs.
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Fifty-eight-year-old Nair, an American citizen, had spent the past four days in custody after he was arrested on Saturday night for insulting a public servant.
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During a court hearing yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Francis Ng said there was “no need” to remand Nair further. But Nair had to surrender his passport and report to Central Police Division for further investigations, “as and when required” to do so.
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In one week, the prosecution will “finalise charges” against him, DPP Ng added.
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Nair’s lawyer, Mr Chia Ti Lik, told the court that Nair — who became an American citizen in 2005 — “might have to leave Singapore for a short while” to settle his affairs back home.
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Nair’s car has been racking up parking charges at the San Francisco Airport since he came here on May 25. The lease for his law firm in California is also due soon, saidMr Chia, an ex-WP lawyer.
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The judge asked Nair to apply to leave the country after he was released from bail.
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Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) assistant treasurer Jeffrey George is believed to have paid Nair’s $5,000 bail.
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Nair appeared to be in good spirits when he left the Subordinate Courts with several SDP members — including Mr George and party chairman GandhiAmbalam — about 90 minutes after the hearing ended.
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But Nair became curt and declined to comment :when approached by reporters.
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Nair was charged on Monday with insulting a public servant by allegedly sending an email to the Solicitor-General and Attorney-General, accusing High Court Judge Belinda Ang of “prostituting herself”.
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Nair, who ran as a candidate under the WP ticket in 1988 and 1991, had flown back to attend opposition politician Chee Soon Juan’s libel hearing — presided over by Justice Ang — last week. The hearing was to determine the amount of damages due to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew who had sued Chee, his sister and the SDP for libel over after a February 2006 article in the party’s newsletter which compared governance within the old National Kidney Foundation with the Government.
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On Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — a non-profit organisation championing press freedom — expressed its concern about Nair’s detention.
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“Singapore’s detention of Gopalan Nair for public comments about such a highly-politicised case is completely unwarranted,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz, who added: “Freedom to criticise the judiciary is fundamental to a modern society.”
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Meanwhile, Law Minister K Shanmugam condemned attacks made on the Judiciary as “totally unacceptable”.
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“To make sure that you protect the integrity of the judiciary ... you have to be very, very strict about anyone who attacks the judiciary in scurrilous ways, or calls into question its independence,” he added.
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Nair will next appear in court on June 12.
He has mattersto settle in US,lawyer tells court


Teo Xuanwei


xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg