Singapore: Kangaroo T-shirts bring contempt of court charge

THREE people who wore T-shirts in the Supreme Court building depicting a kangaroo dressed in a judge's robes are being taken to court.
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The "Attorney-General" is accusing them of scandalising the Singapore judiciary, and on Tuesday the High Court gave the go-ahead to start proceedings against the trio for contempt of court.

The accused are: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) assistant secretary-general John Tan Liang Joo, 47, full time national serviceman Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman and activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa.

They wore the T-shirts during a hearing from May 26 to 28 that involved the SDP, its chief Chee Soon Juan and his sister Siok Chin, a member of SDP's central executive committee.

The hearing before Justice Belinda Ang in Court 4B was to assess defamation damages the party and the Chees had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Tan allegedly said 'This is a kangaroo court' to MM Lee when the minister walked past him outside Court 4B, said a statement on the website of the A-G Chambers on Tuesday.

In a separate statement to the media, the "A-G" said the three men had 'scandalised the Singapore Judiciary by publicly wearing identical white T-shirts, imprinted with a palm-sized picture of a kangaroo dressed in a judge's gown, within and in the vicinity of the New Supreme Court Building.'

By this, they meant to imply that the Court was a kangaroo court, the "AG" added.

A kangaroo court is generally understood as being a court characterised by unauthorised or irregular procedures, or sham and unfair legal proceedings, said the website statement.

It also said that Tan, as the SDP's assistant secretary-general, was also responsible for the appearance of an article, 'Police question activists over kangaroo T-shirts', as well as a photograph of the three men in the T-shirts on the SDP website on July 27.

'The article and the photograph...were meant to give wider publicity to their allegation that the Court was a kangaroo court,' said the "AG" website statement.

The "AG" accused them of engaging in a 'deliberate and calculated course of action to impugn the reputation of and undermine public confidence in the Singapore Judiciary, and to lower its authority in the administration of justice in Singapore.'

The High Court's approval to start contempt proceedings is the first of a two-stage process.

In the next step, the three men will be officially notified of the lawsuit, and a hearing date will be set for both sides to present their arguments in open court.

Tan and Muhammad Shafi'ie are also facing separate charges in court, with 17 others, for their involvement in an illegal assembly and march on March 15.

LNK

Subject: Found to be in contempt Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:52 pm

Three Found to be in contempt

THREE men who wore T-shirts depicting a kangaroo dressed in a judge's robes were found to be in contempt of court on Wednesday afternoon.

Justice Judith Prakash adjourned the hearing, which began in the morning, to give time to the trio to decide if they want to tender an apology or withdraw their insinuation about the Singapore courts.

All three refused to do so.

The three men are Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman, a full-time national serviceman; Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) assistant secretary-general John Tan Liang Joo, 47; and activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa, 33.

They will be sentenced on Thursday morning.

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) initiated contempt of court proceedings against them for having 'scandalised the Singapore Judiciary by publicly wearing identical white T-shirts, imprinted with a palm-sized picture of a kangaroo dressed in a judge's gown, within and in the vicinity of the New Supreme Court Building'.

They wore the T-shirts between May 26 and May 28 at the Supreme Court.

This was when they attended hearings before Justice Belinda Ang to to assess defamation damages that the SDP, its leader Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

When contempt of court proceedings were started against the trio in October, the AGC said in a statement that in wearing the T-shirts, the men meant to imply that the Court was a kangaroo court.

A kangaroo court is generally understood as being a court characterised by unauthorised or irregular procedures, or sham and unfair legal proceedings, noted the AGC.

LNK

Singapore: Kangaroo T-shirts bring contempt of court charge

Singapore: Kangaroo T-shirts bring contempt of court charge

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