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Ming Yi's application to transfer trial to High Court rejected
SINGAPORE: There may be the "occasional weak judge who might fall", but there is a limit to any "apprehension of unfairness" in court that accused persons may feel in cases of conflict of interest, according to Justice Choo Han Teck.
So he dismissed on Thursday the application made by the lawyers of Buddhist monk Shi Ming Yi and co-accused Raymond Yeung to move their criminal trial from the district courts to the High Court.
The monk's lawyer, Andre Yeap, argued last week that Senior District Judge Tan Siong Thye - the Subordinate Courts' top judge who used to head the Commercial Affairs Department until last May - had "personally led the investigations" against his client and thus might prejudice the case.
In delivering his judgement, Justice Choo said that it was "fair" to say that "in cases of a conflict of interest, no one can tell what extraneous and irrelevant factors might influence the judge's mind".
The "spectre" that "frightens" the applicants in this case is the trial judge may not have the "courage to disagree with his boss", noted Justice Choo.
But judges are required by oath to administer the law "without fear or favour", and if this is not accepted, the courts might not function and "a virtue of justice thus becomes corrupted from a paralysis brought about by fear".
"Every judge is mindful by virtue of the oath of office that he has taken, that in reaching his verdict, he does not take instruction from a superior judge except in the form of the binding authority of precedent cases; for he knows that when the trial starts, he is the boss," said Justice Choo.
The application had come seven months after Ming Yi, whose real name is Goh Kah Heng, was charged.
And Deputy Public Prosecutor Jaswant Singh had previously described the move as "a delaying tactic", as next month's trial dates had been fixed in January.
TODAY understands the trial will now begin as scheduled on April 2.
Ming Yi, the founder and former chief of Ren Ci Hospital, is facing charges of defrauding the charity and helping to falsify its accounts.
He also allegedly forged documents to cheat auditors and gave false information to the Commissioner of Charities, both before and after a probe by the Health Ministry in November 2007.
Neither Ming Yi nor co-accused Yeung was in court on Thursday.
- TODAY
SINGAPORE: There may be the "occasional weak judge who might fall", but there is a limit to any "apprehension of unfairness" in court that accused persons may feel in cases of conflict of interest, according to Justice Choo Han Teck.
So he dismissed on Thursday the application made by the lawyers of Buddhist monk Shi Ming Yi and co-accused Raymond Yeung to move their criminal trial from the district courts to the High Court.
The monk's lawyer, Andre Yeap, argued last week that Senior District Judge Tan Siong Thye - the Subordinate Courts' top judge who used to head the Commercial Affairs Department until last May - had "personally led the investigations" against his client and thus might prejudice the case.
In delivering his judgement, Justice Choo said that it was "fair" to say that "in cases of a conflict of interest, no one can tell what extraneous and irrelevant factors might influence the judge's mind".
The "spectre" that "frightens" the applicants in this case is the trial judge may not have the "courage to disagree with his boss", noted Justice Choo.
But judges are required by oath to administer the law "without fear or favour", and if this is not accepted, the courts might not function and "a virtue of justice thus becomes corrupted from a paralysis brought about by fear".
"Every judge is mindful by virtue of the oath of office that he has taken, that in reaching his verdict, he does not take instruction from a superior judge except in the form of the binding authority of precedent cases; for he knows that when the trial starts, he is the boss," said Justice Choo.
The application had come seven months after Ming Yi, whose real name is Goh Kah Heng, was charged.
And Deputy Public Prosecutor Jaswant Singh had previously described the move as "a delaying tactic", as next month's trial dates had been fixed in January.
TODAY understands the trial will now begin as scheduled on April 2.
Ming Yi, the founder and former chief of Ren Ci Hospital, is facing charges of defrauding the charity and helping to falsify its accounts.
He also allegedly forged documents to cheat auditors and gave false information to the Commissioner of Charities, both before and after a probe by the Health Ministry in November 2007.
Neither Ming Yi nor co-accused Yeung was in court on Thursday.
- TODAY
