The Workers’ Party (WP) leaders Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh are reportedly appealing to the public for funds to help them fight the multimillion-dollar Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) lawsuit the three town councillors are embroiled in.
Revealing that they have “depleted our personal resources,” having already paid $600,000 from their own pockets to their legal team as the trial rages on, the trio appealed in their In Good Faith blog today: “We need financial resources to fight the legal battle and to deal with the prospect of being made a bankrupt.”
The party’s former secretary-general Low, current secretary-general Singh and chairman Lim added that they “have not used any funds from the Workers’ Party.”
The parliamentarians wrote on their blog that they are committed to fighting vigorously against the unfounded claims that have been levelled against them:
“The claims against us are unfounded. We have acted in good faith, and did what we believed to be in the best interests of our residents and the Town Council.
“We will fight the claims vigorously. If we lose the suits and are adjudged to pay large sums of money, and are unable to pay, we would face bankruptcy… We now appeal to the public for financial support.”
Sylvia Lim has confirmed to the national broadsheet that the appeal is legitimate. The opposition politicians are seeking public contributions via bank transfer, cheque and Lim’s PayNow account and have asked donors to include an e-mail address so that they can express their gratefulness.
Low, Lim and Singh, along with two other town councillors, are battling intense lawsuits over $33.7 million in alleged improper payments. The suits, brought by AHTC as directed by an independent panel and Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, claim that the defendants have breached their fiduciary duties.
The plaintiffs are asking the town councillors to repay the improper payments if they are found guilty during the trial that began on 5 Oct and expected to end on 2 Nov.
If the parliamentarians are found responsible for the improper payments and cannot repay the hefty sum, they risk being made bankrupt and stripped of their parliamentary seats.