To say that opposition parties in Singapore are in disarray would be an understatement. Two have been hit by sex scandals, lowering their (already meagre) chance of future success in the eyes of conservative Singaporeans.
One of only three opposition MPs recently resigned from his position as secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party, after admitting posing nude for photographs and taking pictures of his scantily-clad maid.
Steve Chia was considered one of the rising stars, a poster boy for the face of political opposition. The 34-year-old clean-cut, hardworking politician 'earned' his Non-Constituency MP seat after gathering the most votes among losers in the 2001 general election.
But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. After his pregnant wife discovered what have been described as sexy photos of their Indonesian maid in her husband's computer recycle bin, she reported him to police. This prompted a media frenzy, with a lot of misreporting of the facts and photos.
Mr Chia was first said to have molested the maid and taken naked photos of them both. He made a brave attempt to reach the public directly by explaining his version of events in detail in the local press and on websites.
He stressed that he had never appeared with the maid on the photos; the woman was scantily clad and not naked, and she had agreed to the photos, although he did admit she took some coaxing. He even allowed for the publication of some photos, which proved to be tasteful if amateurish, of him in the nude while on holiday abroad. He described himself as 'adventurous', claiming to be pursing art, not pornography.
But the scandal unearthed other embarrassing revelations, like the fact that the police had found material downloaded from pornographic websites on his computer and that he had had an extra-marital affair before he contested the last election.