Peter Kammerer's article ('Lone rival's roar silenced in Lion City', South China Morning Post, March 15) contains unfounded allegations.
Chee Soon Juan has spent time in jail not because of the views he espoused. He knowingly and consistently broke the law. He was fined twice for speaking in a public place without the required permit. It was Dr Chee who chose to go to jail rather than pay the fines.
He is being sued because he falsely defamed the Prime Minister and Senior Minister of Singapore. He made grave charges against Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, calling them dishonest and unfit for office, and accused them of concealing the truth about the allegedly improper US$10 billion loan to Indonesia.
Dr Chee knew that the issue of the loan had been debated in Parliament and the Government explained that it was only a standby facility to supplement the International Monetary Fund programme to support the Indonesian economy. No money had been disbursed to Indonesia. When threatened with legal proceedings, Dr Chee publicly admitted that his allegations were false and without any basis and apologised to Mr Goh and Mr Lee.
Mr Kammerer says that 'soon after' Dr Chee ran in a by-election, he lost his job at the National University of Singapore. Dr Chee was dismissed by the university because he had misused university research funds. He then accused his department head, Dr S. Vasoo of fabricating evidence against him. When Dr Vasoo sued him for defamation, Dr Chee abandoned his defence and paid damages, thus avoiding being cross-examined in the witness box.
Dr Chee claimed that he and his wife have been victims of intimidation. I would advise Dr Chee to make a police report immediately if he has not already done so. Every law-abiding person in Singapore is entitled to equal protection under the law.