Thursday, Feb 16, 2012
Where is Yaw Shin Leong?
Facebook page deleted, mobile phone turned off. Even fellow party members are unable to get in touch with former Workers' Party (WP) Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong.
Has he gone missing? Did he flee the country? These are some questions on people's minds after news broke out about his alleged affairs.
The New Paper and Lianhe Wanbao reported that Mr Yaw was spotted alone with luggage on Wednesday night at Changi Airport Terminal 1.
It is believed that he might have fled the country amid the allegations. Even WP chairman Sylvia Lim does not know his whereabouts.
According to The New Paper, Mr Yaw was no longer in Singapore by the time WP announced his expulsion at a press conference held at 5pm.
After the announcement, a Lianhe Wanbao reporter attempted to contact Mr Yaw via iPhone's WhatsApp app, and noticed that the last time he was online was 6.29pm.
Mr Yaw was not at home when reporters visited him at 11.30pm and the next day at 6am.
Lianhe Wanbao also reported that the married woman in question has not returned home for a few weeks.
This is the first time an MP was expelled based on allegations of his private life.
For the past month, Mr Yaw remained tight-lipped on allegations accusing him of having an extramarital affair with a married party colleague. He also answered all media queries with a "no comment".
His silence forced the party to act after he avoided several opportunites to explain himself.
"We have invited Shin Leong to come to speak with the council, but he has not done so," said Ms Lim at the press conference.
She said that party's central executive council (CEC) gave him one more shot at explaining himself but he chose not to come.
Ms Lim also said the party could not contact Mr Yaw to inform him of the CEC's decision to expel him and had to speak to his wife instead.
The recent incidents have prompted National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan to say that WP should come clean with the people and why it took so long to investigate the allegations.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also commented on WP's handling of Yaw's alleged affair, saying that the WP has let down Hougang voters.
However, Mr Tay, a 32-year-old engineer said that he would continue to support WP.
"As a public figure, Mr Yaw is supposed to be a role model and should not have done what he supposedly did. This whole issue, however, does not affect my support for WP," told Mr Tay to The New Paper.
Some people Lianhe Wanbao spoke to said they will continue to support WP, while others said the believe that the People's Action Party will have an opportunity this time to win Hougang single-member constituency back. Hougang has been in the hands of WP since 1991.