Derrick A Paulo
[email protected]HIS hopes of running for President are over for now, but Mr Andrew Kuan's legal problems have only just begun.
He had until 5pm yesterday to respond to the letter of demand issued to him last week by lawyer Chia Boon Teck.
But the deadline passed without any word from Mr Kuan's lawyers.
So, last night, Mr Chia's lawyers filed a writ of summons and a statement of claim in the High Court against the former JTC Corporation group chief financial officer, setting the stage for a defamation suit in court.
The High Court will assign a case number today for the suit and Mr Chia's lawyers, Mr Edmond Pereira and Mr Peter Cuthbert Low, who once acted for opposition candidate Tang Liang Hong, will then serve the writ on Mr Kuan.
Once he receives the writ, he will have eight days to engage a lawyer to acknowledge receipt of the notice in court, and 14 days after that to file his defence.
Mr Kuan could not be reached for comment yesterday and on Monday, even though this newspaper had left messages with a family member and one of his campaign staff.
If he does not respond to the writ to be issued against him, Mr Chia will be entitled to enter a judgement in default against him for damages to be assessed by the court.
The Law Society council member is suing Mr Kuan for allegedly defamatory statements the latter had made at an Aug 8 press conference.
Mr Kuan had invited the media to listen to his side of the story after a news report leaked allegations surrounding his departure from his condominium's management council (MC) in May 2001.
The former MC chairman of The Tanamera condominium disputed suggestions in the report that he had been "ousted" by his council members, claiming instead that he had resigned after he had made an "unpopular decision" to get Mr Chia, whom he accused of signing forms under his sister's name, removed. Mr Chia and his sister, Ms Chia Lee Kheng, were named in a police report that Mr Kuan distributed at the media briefing.
The police closed the matter without prosecution after completing their investigation.
The siblings, who were sharing an apartment at the condominium at the time, had told Today last week that the forms were signed on Ms Chia's behalf, with her full knowledge and authorisation, as she had been away at the time.
Mr Chia served a notice through his lawyer to Mr Kuan the day after the press conference for the latter to apologise publicly, make reparations and undertake to never repeat the comments again, among other things — all of which Mr Kuan had not responded to as the deadline drew to a close yesterday.
Presidential Polls and Petitions
While some Singaporeans have welcomed the re-election of President S R Nathan, others are disappointed that only one candidate was certified eligible for the polls.
As a result of the decision from the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC), one person has decided to start an online petition to show support for presidential candidate Andrew Kuan (picture). Mr Harry Yong, who did not respond to an email from Today, had managed to collect about 250 signatures as of press time last night. The petition is calling for 1,000 signatures, although the PEC's decision is final.
In comparison, the National Kidney Foundation petition drew more than 40,000 people online. It called for the organisation's board and chief executive officer to resign.
Another online effort initiated this weekend was a cyber voting booth, listing all four presidential candidates who had submitted their applications for eligibility.
Among the almost 2,000 "votes" cast, Mr Kuan has 55 per cent of the "ballots" while Mr Nathan has 7 per cent. Fifteen percent opted to "spoil their votes".
