MIW do another illegal detention again!!

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Suspected match-fixing leader Dan Tan detention without trial 'illegal': Lawyer
Match-fixing mastermind Dan Tan Seet Eng's detention, enacted under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA), did not affect "public safety, peace and good order", says lawyer Hamidul Haq. Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun argues the Act serves as a precautionary measure.

By Kyle Malinda
POSTED: 27 Jul 2015 18:45



SINGAPORE: Suspected match-fixing mastermind Dan Tan Seet Eng's lawyer Hamidul Haq said in court on Monday (Jul 27) that Tan's nearly two-year detention without trial was allegedly illegally invoked.

According to Mr Hamidul, this was because Tan's detention, enacted under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA), did not affect "public safety, peace and good order" and that the alleged offences happened outside of Singapore jurisdiction.

Section 30 of the CLTPA allows for a person to be detained for up to a year if such action is "in the interest of public safety, peace and good order" subject to yearly reviews, which may be extended. The law is typically used against criminals of organised crime and has historically been used against drug kingpins, loansharks and members of secret societies.

In the three-member Court of Appeal, Mr Hamidul said the CLTPA was not intended to target match-fixing activities as there was no "apparent threat to life or limb, or to security" and that it was considered as an economic offence as there is no violent element in an underlying corruption offence.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the burden of proof was on both parties to decide if there was a risk of public safety and good order being threatened as a result of Tan's alleged misdeeds. Judge Andrew Phang Boon Leong agreed that the law was "draconian" and as such had to have only been enacted on Tan if it fulfilled the specified criteria.

To this, Mr Hamidul said the only incriminating activity done in Singapore was the hiring of runners, and that other activities were done outside of Singapore's borders. The CLTPA does not apply for criminal activities committed outside of Singapore's borders, he said.

While Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun said the CLTPA had an effect of serving as a precautionary measure such that authorities would not "wait for (criminal activities) to materialise", Mr Hamidul said Tan did not conduct any match-fixing activities after mid-2011. Tan was arrested in September 2013.

DPP Hay referred to comments made in Parliament by Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran that the CLTPA could clamp down on transnational crime, where "this kind of criminal activity will cause a profound decay in public order in Singapore" if allowed to take root here.

However, Mr Hamidul said the Minister's comments were "general unsubstantiated assertions" as social problems disrupting public order could only be made in drug trafficking and unlicensed moneylending cases, which cause disability and death as well as widespread debtor harassment respectively.

DPP Hay reiterated that the Minister has the sole discretion in deciding to detain someone without trial, with the President confirming it after recommendation by an advisory committee. Hay also asserted the CLTPA's history suggests it "can, and is intended to, apply to a wide variety of situations and challenges".

Citing a CLTPA Parliament discussion in October 2013, DPP Hay highlighted that Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean alluded to "organised crime syndicates with complex and layered structures motivated by financial gain" as a common element between Tan's global football match-fixing case as well as drug trafficking and unlicensed moneylending cases.

In mitigating possible CLTPA abuses, DPP Hay reminded the courts that the Act is temporary and reviewable every five years to deal with new challenges or threats.

Judgment was reserved for a date to be fixed by the Supreme Court. An appeal to remove Tan from indefinite detention without trial last year was dismissed by the apex court. The CLTPA was last reviewed in November 2013 after a robust debate by Members of Parliament on assurances of accountability. The act will remain in force until Oct 20, 2019.

- CNA/xk

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...milar#cxrecs_s


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