Insult to judge: One of two charges against lawyer amended

June 17, 2008
EX-SINGAPOREAN IN THE DOCK Insult to judge: One of two charges against lawyer amended
By Jeremy Au Yong
ACCUSED: The amended charge says that Nair made his insulting on a blog, not in an e-mail. FORMER Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Pallichadath Nair was back in court yesterday where one of two charges against him was amended. This now specifies that his accusations against Justice Belinda Ang of the High Court were made in a posting on his blog - not in an e-mail. The 58-year-old is now also required to report to the police every morning as a condition of his $5,000 bail after he missed an appointment last Friday. The charge that was amended yesterday relates to his alleged insult to Justice Ang while she was presiding over a case last month in a posting on his blog. The charge previously accused him of insulting her in an e-mail that he had sent. Nair made the comments about Justice Ang after he returned to Singapore to observe a three-day hearing which she presided over to assess damages in a defamation suit that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew won against the Singapore Democratic Party, its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin. Nair faced a second charge for insulting another High Court judge in 2006. He is said to have sent an e-mail to Justice Lai Siu Chiu while she was presiding over a contempt of court case involving Chee Soon Juan at that time. In it, he criticised Justice Lai and fellow judges here for having 'no shame' and implied that she and the others worked against critics of the People's Action Party at the ruling party's behest. He also said judges were 'misusing the law for personal gain' and called her and others 'corrupt'. Nair, who met reporters last week, had denied sending an e-mail to Justice Ang and said he could not remember if he sent Justice Lai an e-mail. Both charges against Nair will be heard in the High Court. If found guilty, he could face a fine of up to $5,000 or a jail term of up to one year, or both, on each charge. In the Subordinate Courts yesterday, Nair was also told that he must report at 9am daily to the Central Police Division as a condition of his bail. He previously needed to do so only when asked. In making that application, Deputy Public Prosecutor Francis Ng told the court that Nair had failed to turn up at an agreed time last Friday. His lawyer Chia Ti Lik explained that a miscommunication with the police led to the no-show. Nair will have to report every day until the police notify him that his presence for further investigation is no longer required. He is due in court again on July 14, when a trial date will likely be set.