Veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon is among those who are praising Lee Hsien Yang for his generosity towards activist Jolovan Wham, after it was revealed that Mr Lee had put up a hefty $20,000 security deposit for Mr Wham’s appeal against his conviction for scandalising the judiciary.
Mr Lee is the youngest son of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the younger brother of current PM Lee Hsien Loong. After a public feud with his brother, Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s son, Li Shengwu, was accused of contempt of court over a private Facebook post and now faces a lawsuit in court.
Even as his son’s lawsuit is ongoing, Mr Lee has given to another Singaporean facing a legal case.
The High Court recently issued a $5000 fine to Mr Wham after finding him guilty of scandalising the judiciary, over a comment on social media about the independence of Singapore’s judges compared to Malaysia’s.
Mr Wham, who will be jailed for a week if he refuses to pay the fine, is also required to pay an additional S$5000 in costs and nearly S$3,000 in disbursements to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on top of the fine. Mr Wham, who said that he has done nothing wrong and has nothing to apologise for, later revealed that he is appealing the sentence.
Last night (May 21), Mr Wham revealed that Mr Lee had helped him to put up the $20,000 security deposit required for his appeal. On Twitter, Mr Wham wrote “Justice is not cheap” as he tweeted that the hefty security deposit may not be recoverable if he loses the case.
In his first tweet, he wrote: “My lawyers have informed me that they’ve put in 20k to the prosecutor’s account as security for costs. This is for my appeal against the high court decision which found me guilty of scandalising the judiciary. If I lose, I may not get the full deposit back. Justice is not cheap!”
In a subsequent tweet, he updated: “Fortunately, the Prime Minister’s brother, Lee Hsien Yang reached out to me and offered to put up the security for costs on my behalf. I’m grateful to him for his generosity.”
Mr Tay praised Mr Lee in a comment published on activist Kirsten Han’s Facebook post informing netizens of Mr Lee’s contribution.
In a short but sweet remark, the architect behind iconic structures in Singapore like KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Golden Mile Complex and the People’s Park Complex wrote: “Bravo LHY!”
Mr Tay is not alone in his praise of Mr Lee. Several netizens responding to Mr Lee’s deed on social media have praised his kindness, generosity and compassion in coming to the timely aid of Mr Wham, urging him to contest the next election as an opposition candidate:
Read more comments from other netizens praising Mr Lee’s generosity here:
https://theindependent.sg.sg/compassionate-lee-hsien-yang-draws-praise-for-paying-20000-security-deposit-for-jolovan-whams-court-appeal/