CNA, 23 Dec 2010
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.
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