Singapore PM’s estranged nephew Li Shengwu will not ‘participate’ in contempt case, will unfriend cousin on Facebook
- The Harvard University assistant economics professor faces charges over Facebook comments about Singapore’s judiciary system
- He has vowed not to take part in a case against him by the Attorney General’s Chambers, but legal expert says defendants don’t get to choose
Li Shengwu in a public Facebook post on Wednesday said the AGC had recently sought to strike out parts of his defence affidavit and this meant part of his court filings would not be considered at the trial. The AGC also wanted those parts to be sealed in the court record and not made public, he claimed.
“This is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of unusual conduct by the AGC,” he said, adding that the AGC had previously argued for a new piece of legislation to be retroactively applied to his case. This application was rejected by the court.
“In light of these events, I have decided that I will not continue to participate in the proceedings against me. I will not dignify the AGC’s conduct by my participation,” he added.
The Harvard University assistant economics professor faces contempt charges for comments he made about Singapore’s judiciary system.
His announcement means that he will discharge the lawyers from Providence Law in Singapore who have been representing him in court.