SINGAPORE: The rift between Potong Pasir Member of Parliament Chiam See Tong and his former right-hand man Desmond Lim looks set to deepen, after the latter engaged a lawyer to defend him in disciplinary proceedings initiated against him.
Colin Ng & Partners' Peter Low, a former Law Society president, will be representing Mr Lim. MediaCorp understands that a lawyer's letter was sent to Mr Chiam on Wednesday.
On Dec 6, the Singapore People' Party (SPP) central executive committee had sent Mr Lim a letter detailing nine charges against him, including the allegation that Mr Lim had made defamatory remarks about Mr Chiam in an October newspaper article over the issue of the Reform Party (RP) joining the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).
The SPP, a component
party of the SDA, was also unhappy with Mr Lim for speaking in his
capacity as SDA secretary-general to the media.
Mr Lim, who had
fended off an attempt by Mr Chiam to remove him from the SDA, responded
to the charges the next day, but is still awaiting SPP's replies.
Mr Lim told MediaCorp that he had "no choice but to engage a lawyer to formally ask them to respond to my letter".
Said
Mr Lim: "I'm taking this matter very seriously ... It's not that I want
to get a lawyer to fight them. I also wish to find out who are the
cadres in the disciplinary committee."
MediaCorp understands that
in his lawyer's letter, Mr Lim pointed out that Mr Chiam should take
him to court if he felt he was defamed, instead of subjecting Mr Lim to
disciplinary proceedings.
Mr Chiam held a Christmas Party on
Thursday, which was attended by several opposition leaders including RP
chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam and the National Solidarity Party's Sebastian
Teo. When approached, Mr Chiam declined to comment on the lawyer's
letter.
- TODAY