Former Progress Singapore Party member Martin Piper is taking legal action against the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) for allegedly disclosing his personal information to a woman he had previously complained about.
The first day of the civil trial took place on Monday (5 Aug), The Straits Times (ST) reported.
In an email dated 27 Aug 2022, Mr Piper, 51, alleged that Carol Loi Pui Wan, a co-founder of SGFamilies — a ground-up initiative affiliated with SKM — was “engaging in discriminatory conduct”.
He claimed that Ms Loi was operating a Telegram chat group that propagated transphobic and anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) content.
Source: Worawee Meepian on Canva, for illustration purposes only
On 1 Sep 2022, Karun S’Baran, head of strategic marketing and communications at SKM, replied to Mr Piper’s email.
Mr Karun stated that Ms Loi had clarified she was “neither the owner nor founder of the Telegram chat and that her involvement in the Telegram chat was limited to her personal capacity as a concerned citizen”.
Three days later, on 4 Sep 2022, Mr Piper responded to Mr Karun with additional information to support his complaint.
In his follow-up on 7 Sep 2022, Mr Karun included Ms Loi in the email thread, which contained Mr Piper’s personal data such as his full name and email address.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mr Piper’s lawyers argued that SKM violated the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) by not getting his permission before using or sharing his personal information.
They also said SKM showed the entire email thread to Ms Loi without Mr Piper’s approval, among other breaches.
On or around 5 Sep 2022, Ms Loi filed an action against Mr Piper under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), alleging that he had harassed her.
Source: Martin Piper on Facebook
Mr Piper’s court documents noted that Ms Loi had published a Facebook album with screenshots, photos, and detailed comments about the process of filing the POHA claim.
This album led to Mr Piper being identified as the respondent, resulting in him receiving death threats from unknown sources.
The documents also stated that he faced significant, undisclosed expenses in responding to and defending against the claim, which was ultimately withdrawn by Ms Loi on 24 May 2023.
Additionally, Mr Piper claimed he experienced emotional distress due to the threatening messages he received.
As a result, he is seeking compensation from SKM for costs and damages, but the court documents do not specify the amounts involved.
In response, SKM called Mr Piper’s case “unmeritorious” and denied violating PDPA regulations.
It stated that it acted as a neutral party by facilitating communication between Mr Piper and Ms Loi to address his concerns.
SKM also highlighted that the Telegram channel in question was not affiliated with the SGFamilies movement and that Ms Loi’s involvement with the channel was strictly personal.
The defence pointed out that Mr Piper’s voluntary submission of his personal data implied consent for its use in the investigation and mediation process.
It also noted that Mr Piper did not request confidentiality or anonymity for his data.
Mr Piper countered that while it was reasonable for SKM to use his contact details to communicate with him, disclosing his personal information to Ms Loi was inappropriate.
The trial is ongoing.
Also read: Man in UK sues Apple after wife discovers ‘deleted texts’ sent to sex workers
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Featured image adapted from KHUNKORN on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
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