SDP’s John Tan suspended from work due to pending court case

[CENWEN]

SDP’s John Tan suspended from work due to pending court case

<cite class="auth">Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, November 6</cite>
SINGAPORE: James Cook University Singapore has suspended the services of its contract lecturer John Tan Liang Joo, who is also the assistant secretary—general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

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</noscript>The university’s chief executive officer, Dale Anderson, said Mr Tan was not a staff member at the university but was contracted to teach Psychology.
His contract was suspended on October 21 because of a pending court case. Dr Anderson said the new school term began on October 29 but the court case was due to start on November 4, so a replacement contract lecturer was brought in to minimise disruption to the students. Mr Tan is one of three men charged with contempt of court by the Attorney General’s Chambers. The other two men being charged are Isrizal Mohamed and Muhammad Shafi’ie Syahmi Sariman. Their case has since been adjourned to November 24 to allow the three defendants more time to prepare. They are alleged to have impugned the reputation of the judiciary by appearing outside the Supreme Court building wearing identical white T—shirts bearing a palm—sized picture of a kangaroo dressed in a judge’s gown. The incident happened in May this year during a hearing to assess damages to be awarded to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for defamation by members of the SDP.
— CNA/yt

 

[DOM the Clown]

For the benefit of all the forumers (maybe like me) who are not sure what's a Kangaroo is:

A kangaroo court or kangaroo trial, sometimes likened to a drumhead court-martial or Drumhead trial, is a sham legal proceeding or court. Kangaroo courts are judicial proceedings that deny due process rights in the name of expediency. Such rights include the right to summon witnesses, the right of cross-examination, the right not to incriminate oneself, the right not to be tried on secret evidence, the right to control one's own defense, the right to exclude evidence that is improperly obtained, irrelevant or inherently inadmissible (e.g. hearsay), the right to exclude judges or jurors on the grounds of partiality or conflict of interest, and the right of appeal. The outcome of a trial by "kangaroo court" is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of providing a conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or by allowing no defense at all.



Etymology
The term seems not to originate from Australia, the native continent of kangaroos. The oldest known usage instead stems from the California Gold Rush, with the first written reference (1853) in a Texas context (also mustang court), from the notion of proceeding "by leaps" like the eponymous marsupial. It is possible that the phrase arose out of a combination of informal courts convened to deal with "claim jumpers", such courts being named "kangaroo courts" by some of the many Australian participants in the Gold Rush together with a bit of local word play. As many of the participants of the gold rushes had emigrated from Australia and were deeply unpopular it is also believed that anti-Australian sentiment amongst more "local" participants resulted in predetermined outcomes against these Australian immigrants - hence "Kangaroo court".


Mock justice
The term is often applied to courts subjectively judged as such, while others consider the court to be legitimate and legal. A kangaroo court may be a court that has had its integrity compromised; for example, if the judge is not impartial and refuses to be recused.

It may also be an elaborately scripted event intended to appear fair while having the outcome predetermined from the start. Terms meaning "show trial", like the German Schauprozess, indicate the result is fixed before (usually guilty): the "trial" is just for show. Notorious were Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's kangaroo trials against his enemies, whom he labeled enemies of the people, notably in the context of the Great Purge. Another example is Roland Freisler's "processes" against the enemies of the National-Socialist regime.