Late last month, Mr Li Shengwu, grandson of late former prime minister Lee Kwan Yew, was fined $15,000 for contempt of court over a Facebook post he made in 2017.
Since he refused to take part in the court process, nor did he turn up for the hearing or verdict, it was uncertain whether he would pay the fine.
However, Mr Li has now announced that he will be paying the fine issued to him “for some peace and quiet” — but that doesn’t mean he admits guilt.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (11 Aug), Mr Li – the son of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s brother Lee Hsien Yang – said that in addition to the “peace and quiet”, his decision to pay the fine was made as he thinks this way there will also not be any “easy excuse to attack” him and his family.
However, Mr Li said that despite paying the fine, he does not admit to being guilty.
Neither has he denied writing whatever he wrote in a private Facebook post back in 2017, as he doesn’t think what he wrote was illegal.
Mr Li’s Facebook post was made just a day ahead of the stipulated deadline for him to pay, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
If he fails to pay the $15,000 fine, he would have to serve a week’s jail in default.
Apart from the fine, Mr Li was also ordered to pay more than $16,000 more — $8,500 in costs and $8,070.69 in Attorney-General’s Chambers disbursements, reported The Straits Times.
In the controversial Facebook post that Mr Li was charged with contempt of court over, he shared an article from the Wall Street Journal on the 38 Oxley Road saga.
He also posted a caption that described the Singapore Government as “litigious” and referred to our “pliant court system”, then attached a link to a 2010 New York Times article.
The post was set to “friends only”, meaning it could be viewed only by his friends on Facebook.
Justice Kannan Ramesh ruled that Mr Li’s post “impugns the impartiality” of Singapore’s judiciary.
Source
We hope Mr Li’s decision to pay the fine will finally put an end to the 3-year trial.
What are your thoughts on Mr Li’s decision, and the judgement passed? Share them in the comments below.
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Featured image adapted from YouTube.
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