SINGAPORE: Netizens were fast to point out the double standards after witnesses involved in the Keppel O&M corruption scandal were not identified, but Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Suet Fern were named during their investigation.
Many left comments responding to a statement made by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Monday (March 20) about how law enforcement agencies generally do not disclose names of people under investigation, except in some cases, such as when the individuals absconded or leave the country while under probe, or if the facts surrounding the alleged offences and the individuals linked to them are already publicly known.
“A disciplinary tribunal and the Court of Three Judges had said that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern were lying. They had been found to be dishonest, and more. All of that is public. They have also essentially absconded from jurisdiction. We take this seriously,” Mr Shanmugam said.
Netizens responded that public interest was also a criterion for the Keppel O&M corruption scandal but asked why individuals were not named then.
On Monday, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai and Member of Parliament (MP) Leon Perera from Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) filed parliamentary questions on the matter. Mr Leong from the Progress Singapore Party asked why Mr and Mrs Lee were named while executives of the Keppel O&M bribery case were not, while Mr Perera from the Workers’ Party queried about the circumstances in which law enforcement agencies divulge the names of individuals who are associated with an ongoing investigation.
In his reply, Mr Shanmugam laid out five examples of when such individuals would be named:
- When the offender has absconded or left the jurisdiction while investigations are ongoing
- When the facts relating to the alleged offences and the individuals who may have committed the alleged offences are already publicly known and there is some public interest in disclosing that investigations are underway
- When a person already convicted of several offences tries to flee Singapore
- When a person makes a public statement regarding his case, prompting response from the authorities
- When there is a lot of misinformation being circulated regarding an investigation and the police have to make public the accurate facts to dispel the falsehoods.
On Facebook, Mr Lee Hsien Yang also responded by citing the following article: ‘Foreign witness linked to Keppel O&M corruption scandal unwilling to give evidence in S’pore: Indranee Rajah’.
/TISG