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JBJ
freed from bankruptcy - "it's a heavy price I have
paid"
Amnesty International Canada
12 May
07
J B Jeyaretnam, long regarded as Singapore's veteran
opposition leader and human rights campaigner, is finally freed
from bankruptcy. He is therefore eligible to resume his
profession as a lawyer, travel abroad without permission, and
contest the next election in Singapore, due in 2011.
After
making payments of S$233,255 (roughly equivalent to the Canadian
dollar) to the Official Assignee, he was given a discharge from
bankruptcy.
He had been declared bankrupt in 2001 after
failing to pay more than S$600,000 in damages to Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong, former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok
Tong, and others. He had been found guilty of defamation at a
1997 election rally when he referred publicly to the filing by
Workers' Party candidate Tang Liang Hong of a police report
critical of ruling party leaders. He estimates he has paid out
close to S$2 million in damages and court costs over the years.
Bankrupts in Singapore are barred from seeking
parliamentary seats. J B Jeyaretnam also lost his right to
practise as a lawyer. He will now apply for the restoration of
his licence to practise law.
J B Jeyaretnam, former judge
and member of parliament, now in his eighties, has long been
known internationally as a voice for freedom, justice and
fundamental human rights in Singapore. As a result, he has faced
numerous defamation and other charges, been imprisoned, made
bankrupt, and excluded from Parliament and his
profession.
Amnesty International (AI) has called on the
Singapore government to stop using restrictive laws and
defamation suits to muzzle critics and opposition party members
such as J B Jeyaretnam.
AI and numerous organizations have
over the years sent representatives to Singapore as trial
observers and have issued critical reports and statements.
Amongst that group are Canadian judge Paul Bentley and Lawyers'
Rights Watch Canada. AI remains concerned about the continuing
use of restrictive laws and civil defamation suits to penalise
and silence peaceful critics of the government.
Laws
allowing the authorities to impose restrictions on freedom of
expression and assembly which violate international standards,
combined with a pattern of politically motivated defamation
suits, have served to maintain a climate of political
intimidation and self-censorship in Singapore. This climate
continues to stifle freedom of expression, deters the expression
of views alternative to those of the ruling People's Action
Party, and dissuades many Singaporeans from exercising their
right to take part in public affairs. Such restrictions belie the
government's repeated claims that it is building an "open
society".
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