Sunday, December 31, 2006

Singapore. Are your investments safe!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Is your money safe in Singapore? Your investments can be safe only if you have the rule of law and independent judges. Investments and banking rely on legal contracts and agreements. Investors need to know that these are honoured and enforced. In the event of a dispute, the courts must independently decide the issue based on the prevailing law, not on whether Lee Kuan Yew will be pleased or displeased. The sad truth is that Singapore judges are corrupt and beholden to Lee Kuan Yew and his son. There is no rule of law in Singapore. The law has been systematically and routinely abused at Lee's orders. If Lee can abuse the law at will against political dissidents, what guarantee is there that he will not do it to enrich himself with your money?

JB Jeyaretnam was a political opponent of Lee. Since 1974, Lee Kuan Yew had systematically abused the law with defamation actions with crippling damages against him, which resulted in Mr. Jeyratnam being imprisoned, bankrupted and disbarred from practice. The world knows this. Lee has abused the law against Dr. Chee and presently continues this tactic against him. He has done it to almost every political opponent of his to remain in power. The law in Singapore is the major instrument of repression which he uses against his people.

Singapore attracts capital from abroad with its banking, insurance and investments. We also know that Singapore is being used for money laundering. The fact that Burmese drug lords launder their money through Singapore banks is well known. So also the money from illegal businessmen from Indonesia. Chinese criminals too park their money in Singapore. We have heard that Singapore has lost millions of dollars through their illegal investments in Thailand and Indonesia. The assets came from the forced savings of Singaporeans in the Central Provident Fund. If the government is unable to honor their promises to the people through these losses, what guarantee is there that Lee will not abuse the legal contracts, break them to cover the losses.

Singapore judges are corrupt in the sense that they decide cases to please Lee and his son. We also know that the Singapore administration will sing any praise and do anything to please the USA. There may be an occasion that the CIA requests Lee to punish certain parties who have their money in Singapore. What guarantee is there that Lee will not use his courts to take that money of the targets.

My point is this. If Lee and his son can abuse the law for one purpose, for persecuting political opponents, there is no reason why he will not do it for any other purpose. My advice therefore to any foreign investor thinking of investing in Singapore is to look elsewhere. Your money is not safe in Singapore. In the region, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand are safer. These countries have the rule of law. Singapore does not.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
EMail: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com

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