Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Art Of The Deal

We know the opposition can be fixed, but has that dastardly political practice metastasized to the legal system too?

When Ms Darinne Ko was seen escorted to court by Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) staff, it was a clear signal a deal was set in place. Ms Cecilia Sue had set the precedent, her special arrangement was with CPIB Deputy Director Teng Khee Fatt. Like Ms Sue, Ko is now accused of deviating her court testimony from her recorded statements, and threatened with impeachment. The Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy has a hostile witness on his hands.

That's a person who, in the court's opinion, gives adverse testimony or displays hostility or prejudice against the party which called him or her to testify. Another variant of this is the adverse witness, a person who intentionally gives unfavorable evidence against the party that called him or her as its key witness. The calling party (i.e. the public prosecutor) may cross-examine a hostile witness as if she was called by the opposing party. A hostile witness may be impeached by discrediting his or her credibility.

Corruption has many facets
Since Ms Ko is a trained lawyer, she must have her professional reasons for the switcheroo. It must have crossed her mind that the law which can fix her law professor Tey Tsun Hang could just as easily have her fixed too. Her mother had asked nicely if they should engage a lawyer when she was first picked up for questioning at the crack of dawn. The rude response: "If she wanted everyone to know what was going on, she could go ahead to get a lawyer" - a not too subtle reminder of the threat to drag out the Central Narcotics Bureau chief corruption case if co-operation was not forthcoming. And then there was the offer that could not be refused - an obvious rip-off from Mario Puzo's "The Godfather". Revealing details of her interrogation, Ms Ko disclosed that she was told by Deputy Director Teng (same guy who had 4 hours of private time with Ms Sue in his office) that his officers had informed him she had not been "cooperative". Specifically, Teng said that the evidence that Ms Ko gave was not "making the element of the charge" against Tey.

Those of you who are trained in law are the better judge whether these backroom deals are kosher. For us laymen, they sure as hell don't pass the smell test.

14 comments:

  1. Well, it could only well be Darinne Ko reneging on her intentions right now by claiming that it is all crush and nothing else!!!!Did she buy such expensive gifts and have sex with her boyfriend???Come on, she did it with a purpose, that is to get in tey's good book and good grades.

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    1. //Come on, she did it with a purpose, that is to get in tey's good book and good grades.//

      If you want to go on that line of reasoning - Why don't we also demand Teng to give us all the same assertion about Michael Palmer? Did he give Ms Laura the Dior handbags so that she can use her position to pull some residents' votes in his favor? And what's with those mangos and sex that she reciprocate?

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  2. red dot is today the most entertaining place to be for legal watchers.................

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  3. Happy Singaporean1/15/2013 11:29 AM

    wahpiang, this better than korean drama...so exciting.

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  4. Result of cramp place and high pressure work environment? Or because we only worship $$$$ gods?

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  5. A society will be in great trouble
    when authority is misuse in justice..

    patriot

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  6. I remain open on the guilt or innocence of either but remain steadfast that I would never hire this woman for any kind of legal dealing. In the prelude it stated her "boyfriend," has accessed her email and chats, not once but TWICE, each time confronting her and she didn't change even a password or change the communication line! Now, honestly, I ask you how intelligent can this woman be? Is she capable of an "A?" What are her grades in the other courses? Is this sexy A her single highest grade? On the prosecution side if I were a lawyer I would really want to know about all this questioning for 6 to 8 hours in the middle of the night and suggestion of phrases to use in a statement by the accused. Sounds pretty cloak and dagger as well as knuckle busting to me..is it legal?

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  7. the case is not transperent and we can see that the prosector is trying to use sex to distract public attention and the same goes to state control media.
    1) the subject is grades.
    why prosecutor did not allow NUS to release the examination grades and to show that if grades are changed to favor DK?

    2) Cofession under duress
    DK is an educated young woman and she was made to confess under duress and she was lack of sleep and must submit research project and compelled to say the words that CPIB wanted

    now what would happen to the fate of ordinary heartlander who has very little education?
    why they be beaten up and brutally abused by CPIB?

    3) CPIB way of extracting information and confession is the same as the old chinese movies where suspects are forced to make statement, beaten up and tortured if they did not confess.

    do you want this kind of justice in Singapore?

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    1. Inside polling station is not within 200m?
      Waffling the Wolf is only accomplice to the old uncle who takes the fall for him and hence given a fine equal to 2, 3 botox?
      A place where the lowly drug mules are hung while the heroin kingpin do deals with our swf and walks around safely in crime-free paradise?
      Where meritocracy means you can lose $$$ without having to account for the losses and still getting millions in bonuses because you are meritocratic enough to marry the son of the founder of modern Singapore?
      Where they pay themselves $$$ with your money for a swiss standard of living and a generous pension on reaching 55, while holding back your retirement savings?

      And you think that is justice? LOL

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  8. In the AIMgate, a red mark in the town council report exposed the $2 company that skimmed off the fat from the S&CC collection. Here, a daliance between a besotted student and a horny professor is airing the questionable ethics of the CPIB deputy director. And Singapore is ranked least corrupt?

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  9. "He told me that I wasn't cooperating because the evidence I gave them was not making out the elements of the charge against Prof Tey."

    "Mr Teng finally suggested that she say that she had given him the gifts so that she would not be "unduly prejudiced" if she took his modules in the future."

    Reading the above, and more, it seems very much as if the CPIB is all out to get Prof Tey, and is trying to put words into their witness' mouth, to build a case, instead of getting at the truth. Not surprisingly, the witness later contradicted her statements, as did Cecilia Sue.

    Is this how justice is served in Singapore? Don't these show the hallmarks of a police state at work, or the lack of professionalism of our law enforcers? They have the effrontery to impeach their own witness, when it is the lack of ethics and their own police work that is at fault. As a neutral observer, it stinks! What do you think, Mr Teng et DPP Jumabhoy?

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  10. SAD THIS IS HAPPENING IN SINGAPORE

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    1. The question is;
      How long has this been going on without our knowledge?

      Daft & Trusting No More.

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  11. Supposing in an hypothetical scenario some lady bought a very expensive present for our PM and then the very next day she is promoted as CEO of a GLC by someone who happens to be appointed by our PM, does our PM in such a case no need to prove there is NO conflict of interest even if the lady happens to be his wife ?



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