TR EMERITUS – Untold Hard Truths From Around The World – 淡马锡评论 – formerly Temasek Review

Prosecution tried to ‘papered’ administrative lapses by the courts?

Tan Lai Kiat, a contractor who found himself at the receiving end of an arrest warrant because of a clerical error, should not be made to pay for the mistake made by the court, ruled a High Court judge. The comments came in the grounds of decision released yesterday by Justice V.K. Rajah, who quashed the warrant following his appeal last month. Mr Tan, now 59, was originally fined for a gambling offence he committed 10 years ago. His family paid his fine half way through his jail term and he was eventually released. But it later turned out that the court clerk (who left the court in 2005) had miscalculated the amount he had to pay and an arrest warrant was issued against him which resulted in his arrest in October 2008, 10 years later. In allowing Mr Tan's appeal, Justice Rajah said neither Mr Tan nor anyone acting on his behalf had contributed to the error which was made by the Subordinate Courts in the first place. While he did not go so far as to pin the blame on anyone in particular, he noted a 'misguided attempt' to correct the mistake, apparently on the quiet. 'If the error had been acknowledged promptly and openly from the beginning, (Mr Tan) would not have to wait for more than 10 years before the error was remedied.' Had there been a more robust system of checks and balances at that time, the case would not have even gone so far, he said. Mr Tan's experience was more than just the 'narrow considerations of an individual's travails with legal processes run awry'. It also threw the spotlight on an 'important facet' on the way that criminal justice is administered here. 'If serious administrative lapses by the courts are left unacknowledged or unchecked or even worse, concealed, confidence in the administration of justice will be corroded and eventually eroded,' said Justice Rajah. But the judge made clear that this was not the case here. 'A culture of openness has long since taken firm root in our courts, with mistakes being acknowledged openly rather than papered over,' he said. The judge noted Mr Tan had been 'literally driven from pillar to post' to seek redress. He could see no reason why the prosecution, which had argued that Mr Tan was avoiding arrest, would have wanted to contest the appeal at first. Justice Rajah said there was no record of letters sent to Mr Tan. Neither was there a court order demanding payment. He was arrested only when he showed up at a police station for an unrelated matter, which meant he was not on the run. 'The unfortunate events which occurred in this case highlighted the importance of having in place a systemised and transparent process for calculating the period of remission an offender is entitled to,' he said. A Subordinate Courts spokesman said yesterday additional layers of checks have been put in place. New software to calculate the outstanding fines had been rolled out. Fine records now are subjected to more checks by different court officials. Read More →

Daily abuse of temple’s free lunch by FTs

I was at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge at Kim Yam Road recently around noon and was utterly shocked to find many foreign construction workers enjoying lunch in the hall, where free meals are offered daily by the temple primarily for the devotees and the poor. These workers clad in construction uniforms and boots literally packed the hall, many standing while others squatted down eating, helping themselves to a few rounds. I was told that this lunch time visit by these PRC workers from nearby construction sites is a daily occurrence. Is this not a clear abuse by these foreign workers of free meals offerings to save and send money back home at the expense of the local devotees' donations not meant to feed them? Annoyed Singaporean Read More →

信息主宰大选成败

作者: 张庆禄（新闻工作者）2010-05-14 以前，许多人都忽视了信息的重要性，后来经济学家系统地论述了信息经济学，才叫人真正察觉信息的作用。在商业上，如果你获得关键且充足的信息，就能做出正確的决定，击败竞爭对手。在政治上，信息也非常重要，尤其是在选举时刻。唯有当选民掌握了充足的信息，並依此作出分析与判断后，他们才能做出最明智的选择。鑑於各选民的思维方式与价值观的相异，同样的信息可能导致不同的结果，然而这並不是重点，问题的关键在於，选民能在作出选择之前获得足够的信息？这里谈的是选民获知候选人相关资讯，以及任何有助於作出投票选择的信息。人民有选举的权力──这一点是毫无异议的。但是，如果我们单纯地以为，只要有了这种权力，我们就可以真正自由地为国家的前途做出选择，那无疑是有点天真。长久以来，我们忽视了选民获取信息的权力。人们会把所获得的讯息，进行分析，再作决定，这是一般的思维过程。在此过程中，如果信息因为某些限制而出现偏颇的情况，那我们的思考就会受到一定程度上的影响，继而做出一个可能並不是那么明智的决定。这並不是一个作为自由人的选民在自由的情况下所做出的自由选择。因为有关选择的自由，在某种程度上已被限制。试举一例，我们把两盘盖著的食物放在被试者面前。对於A食物，我们提供各种信息，如相当美味，具有丰富维他命、是有机食物。至於B食物，我们只提供它是有机食物的信息。在这种情况下，被试者很可能就会被我们所提供的不完整信息影响，选择了A食物。换言之，我们通过限制信息，限制了被试者的选择自由，诱使他做出我们所期待的选择。这种选择並不是真正的自由选择职是之故，为了让选民能真正自由地为自己与国家的前途作出选择，我们得確保他们能获得足够的相关信息。最简单的例子是，选民在投票之前，至少应该有足够机会瞭解候选人的政治理念，听听他怎么说。在这方面，媒体扮演著非常重要的角色。媒体应该平衡地报导各方的新闻，儘量把朝野双方的信息传播出去。当然，在这个科技时代，不少选民都有各种管道获取信息，例如互联网，然而应当谨记的是，还有许多郊外及乡下选民没有办法通过这些新科技获得信息。他们依赖传统媒体提供各种作为思考材料的信息。说信息决定大选成绩，是有点言过其实，不过，信息会影响选民的决定，却是铁一般的事实。在一个公正自由的选举中，选民应该有自由与权力充份掌握相关信息。如果缺乏这一因素，则谁也不能大剌剌公开宣称：这是一个公正自由的选举！当然，除了面皮厚者。来源：星洲日报／六日谭 Read More →