SINGAPORE: Activist Jolovan Wham and opposition politician John Tan were on Monday (Apr 29) fined S$5,000 each for contempt of court.Both men were found guilty of the offence in October last year. In April 2018, Wham published a Facebook post alleging that Malaysia's judges were more independent than Singapore's in cases with political implications.The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) initiated a contempt of court case against him. Less than a month later, Tan, a Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) politician, said on Facebook that the AGC's actions confirmed the truth of Wham's comment.The prosecution, in its sentencing submissions last month, had asked the court to order the men to apologise and take down the posts. Wham did neither.Justice Woo Bih Li on Monday delivered his decision on the sentences, after he reserved judgment in a sentencing hearing last month. The judge said that Wham’s failure to take down the Facebook post and refusal to … [Read more...] about Jolovan Wham, SDP’s John Tan fined S$5,000 for contempt of court
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Court rejects Najib’s bid to quash seven SRC charges
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today dismissed former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s application to quash the seven charges in relation to RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds. Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said the argument of the defence that the charges were flawed was without basis. He also said the offences levelled against Najib did not constitute double jeopardy as the offences were different and any conviction could be secured if the prosecution proved each of the offences. “The prosecution has produced all the documents to the defence. At this stage, the trial has proceeded for nine days and 21 witnesses have been called with extensive cross-examination, with the applications for documents from witnesses that were allowed by this court. “It is difficult to comprehend that the accused could have been misled,“ the judge said. He also said that money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power were … [Read more...] about Court rejects Najib’s bid to quash seven SRC charges
High Court dismisses Najib’s application to strike out charges, trial to go on
The High Court has dismissed Najib Razak’s application to strike out the charges in his corruption trial. Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ruled that the charges against the former premier were not structured in a way that could mislead or prejudice him, to the point he could not put up a proper defence. "For the following broad reasons, this application is denied," he said. Last Friday, Najib's defence lawyers argued that the charges could prejudice the case as they lacked clarity and clashed with each other. Defence lawyer Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin added the charges of corruption were at odds with each other and could not be tried concurrently with CBT. Referring to the RM42mil at the heart of Najib's charges, Kamarul Hisham said the money could not be both gratification and money obtained via a breach of trust. Ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram replied that the charges were not vague, as it should be read together with supplementary documents furnished by the … [Read more...] about High Court dismisses Najib’s application to strike out charges, trial to go on
Court dismisses woman’s bid to punish ex for lost photo album
A divorcee who gave up her marriage of almost three decades may now also have lost a collection of memories, after the High Court dismissed her unusual legal bid seeking the return of a family photo album. The case followed the June 2016 divorce of a couple - who cannot be identified but are believed to be around 60 - which saw a 50-50 division of all their matrimonial assets including their $3.7 million matrimonial home in Toh Crescent, Changi. When the woman went to the property last December, she could not find the prized yellow album and applied to court again, claiming her former husband had breached a High Court order made last year on ancillary matters and asset distribution following the divorce. She claimed a clause in the order prescribed that he return her personal belongings, including the photos at the property. The High Court dismissed her move, ruling the court order on which the woman based her action was not "sufficiently clear" to enable the court to punish the former … [Read more...] about Court dismisses woman’s bid to punish ex for lost photo album
EC should pass Thanathorn case to the Constitutional Court, expert says
The EC last week resolved to press a charge against Thanathorn, accusing him of violating electoral laws by owning or holding 675,000 shares in V-Luck Media Company while registering as a party-list candidate for the general election. Both the Constitution and the MPs Election Act prohibit MP candidates from holding shares in media companies. If found guilty, Thanathorn would be disqualified as an MP and face a possible jail term of one to 10 years as well as a ban from running in elections for 20 years. Thanathorn is scheduled to give testimony to defend himself before the EC today. The legal question over whether the EC is authorised to investigate Thanathorn, who is the No 1 party-list candidate for Future Forward, has been debated for more than a week. One camp, including the Future Forward legal team, insists that the EC has no authority to now probe qualifications of party-list MPs, as that period had already passed or had to be completed before the March … [Read more...] about EC should pass Thanathorn case to the Constitutional Court, expert says