(This is an amended version of the original post on 20 March, Monday. Please refer to the Explanation Post for further information)
Despite still being in mourning for my beloved mother, who passed away on Friday, I attended Parliament today to raise an important issue of governance: why Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern (“LHY Case”) were publicly named as being under Police investigation. w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶e̶c̶u̶t̶i̶v̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶v̶e̶s̶t̶i̶g̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶e̶p̶p̶e̶l̶ ̶O̶f̶f̶s̶h̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶&̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶(̶K̶O̶M̶)̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶b̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶.̶
Although Minister Shanmugam laid out conditions of when individuals under investigation would be named, I do not think many of us 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱. c̶a̶n̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶w̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶O̶M̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶L̶H̶Y̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶,̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶O̶M̶ ̶e̶x̶e̶c̶u̶t̶i̶v̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶e̶m̶p̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶d̶u̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶v̶e̶s̶t̶i̶g̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶.̶ ̶
One condition is “when the offender has absconded or left the jurisdiction while investigations are ongoing.” Minister Shanmugam repeatedly characterised Mr and Mrs Lee as having “absconded” from Singapore, which is a criminal offence, even though the Minister confirmed that Mr and Mrs Lee had not been served written orders to report to the Police to assist with investigations under the Criminal Procedure Code. Under such circumstances, I do not think we can consider Mr and Mrs Lee to have “absconded”. D̶o̶e̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶r̶h̶e̶t̶o̶r̶i̶c̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶i̶m̶p̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶i̶m̶p̶r̶o̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶t̶i̶v̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶u̶m̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶g̶u̶i̶l̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶M̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶M̶r̶s̶ ̶L̶e̶e̶?̶ ̶ ̶O̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶O̶M̶ ̶i̶n̶d̶i̶v̶i̶d̶u̶a̶l̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶t̶u̶r̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶S̶i̶n̶g̶a̶p̶o̶r̶e̶?̶ ̶ ̶
Another condition is “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.” I think the general public would 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟯𝟴 𝗢𝘅𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶O̶M̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶e̶q̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶3̶8̶ ̶O̶x̶l̶e̶y̶ ̶R̶o̶a̶d̶.̶ ̶F̶u̶r̶t̶h̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶d̶i̶v̶i̶d̶u̶a̶l̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶l̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶B̶r̶a̶z̶i̶l̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶B̶l̶o̶o̶m̶b̶e̶r̶g̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶o̶r̶t̶s̶ ̶–̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶?̶ ̶
Yet another condition is “when there is a lot of misinformation being circulated regarding an investigation and the police must make public accurate facts to dispel the falsehoods.” There was no indication that Mr and Mrs Lee were being investigated until 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀? t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶S̶M̶ ̶T̶e̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶p̶o̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶P̶Q̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶m̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶i̶n̶v̶e̶s̶t̶i̶g̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶ ̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶u̶r̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶c̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶a̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶v̶i̶a̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶u̶n̶r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶P̶a̶r̶l̶i̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶Q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶?̶
I̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶p̶i̶n̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶P̶a̶r̶l̶i̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶u̶m̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶l̶u̶e̶n̶c̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶ ̶o̶p̶i̶n̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶d̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶a̶m̶i̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶p̶u̶t̶e̶.̶ ̶P̶a̶r̶l̶i̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶u̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶b̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶l̶i̶c̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶.̶ ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶S̶M̶ ̶T̶e̶o̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶n̶m̶u̶g̶a̶m̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶i̶s̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶P̶a̶r̶l̶i̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶t̶f̶o̶r̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶o̶l̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶c̶ ̶o̶p̶i̶n̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶m̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶c̶e̶e̶d̶i̶n̶g̶s̶.̶ ̶ ̶A̶b̶s̶c̶o̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶m̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶t̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶M̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶M̶r̶s̶ ̶L̶e̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶.̶ ̶I̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶-̶j̶u̶d̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶c̶o̶r̶e̶.
̶W̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶e̶n̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶o̶u̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶a̶c̶t̶i̶c̶e̶d̶.
Singaporeans deserve better.
For Country For People.
