Wednesday, April 3, 2013

CPIB fabricated parts of statements: law prof in sex-for-grades trial

CPIB fabricated parts of statements: law prof in sex-for-grades trial

NUS law professor Tey Tsun Hang said in court Tuesday that CPIB fabricated parts of his statements.

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore law professor involved in a sex-for-grades corruption trial said in court Tuesday that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) fabricated parts of his statements.

Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.

Tey is currently contesting that six of his CPIB statements are inadmissible as they were not given voluntary.

On Tuesday, his second day on the stand, Tey said that CPIB's deputy director Teng Khee Fatt had typed out what he wanted Tey to say while he was recording Tey's statement in May 2012.

Mr Teng had recorded three of the six statements in question. The first was recorded on 17 May, the second on 18 May, and the third on 24 May.

When questioned by the prosecution at the end of the court session on Tuesday, Tey said that the first statement recorded by Mr Teng on 17 May was partly fabricated while the second, recorded on 18 May, was "pretty much" made up.

Earlier in the day Tey told the court that the investigator had heaped expletives on him when he wanted to make changes to the first of six statements.

He said that he could not continue reading what was recorded in the statement as he was too affected by Mr Teng’s outburst.

Tey then said that the recording officer became impatient with him and threatened him whenever he would not make certain points in his second statement.

Tey also said that he was ill and on psychoactive medication during the recording of the third statement.

He added that he was in a state of helplessness, and signed the confession in "silent protest" after feeling like he was a “victim of oppression”.

Tey continued by saying that he was in a dissociative state and that nothing registered in his mind during the recording of the next three statements.

The district judge called for a short break during the trial to allow Tey to regain his composure after he broke down and cried on the stand; Tey became overwhelmed with emotion when recounting how he had to take care of his father, who had undergone two brain surgeries, while Tey himself was ill.

As Tey is currently contesting the admissibility of his CPIB statements, the court will to decide if his statements are admissible at the end of the “trial within a trial”.

The main corruption trial will take place thereafter.

- CNA/jc

- wong chee tat :)
















CPIB statements were made under duress: law prof in sex-for-grades trial

CPIB statements were made under duress: law prof in sex-for-grades trial

SINGAPORE: The law professor involved in the sex-for-grades corruption trial testified that his statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) were made under duress.

Tey Tsun Hang, 41, told the court on Monday that the CPIB officers badgered him to confess, threatened him, swore at him, called him names and humiliated him when he was under investigation.

Tey faces allegations of obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from former student Darinne Ko in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.

On Monday morning, CPIB Deputy Director, Teng Khee Fatt, took the stand.

He was questioned by Tey, who was conducting his own defence.

Tey accused Mr Teng of conducting an extensive probe on him during his time at CPIB and as well as piling threats on him.

Mr Teng denied all accusations.

Tey charged that if Mr Teng had not threatened him, the two-and-a-half page long statement would not have taken more than an hour to read.

Mr Teng however denied any wrongdoing.

Later in the day, Tey recounted, on the witness stand, his experiences with the CPIB officers.

Tey said that the CPIB officers had threatened to haul his wife into the station for questioning, as well as inform the National University of Singapore about the case so that they would dock his pay.

He also said that the officers had threatened to have both his and his wife’s permanent residency status terminated.

Currently, the hearing is known as a "trial within a trial".

Tey is contesting the admissibility of his CPIB statements, which he maintains were made under duress.

The court will decide if his statements are admissible at the end of the “trial within a trial”.

After this, the main trial will start.

Tey will continue to testify on Tuesday.

- CNA/xq/jc

- wong chee tat :)





















Statements made while vulnerable and intimidated: Tey Tsun Hang

Statements made while vulnerable and intimidated: Tey Tsun Hang

SINGAPORE: The NUS law professor involved in a sex-for-grades corruption trial said in court Tuesday that investigation officers from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) badgered him into making confessions at a time when he was vulnerable.

Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.

Tey took the stand for a second day on Tuesday to present his side of the story.

The former district judge maintained that officers from CPIB had intimidated and hurled English and Hokkien vulgarities at him when he was hauled into CPIB for questioning in 2012.

Tey was brought in for questioning on 2 April 2012, but was admitted to Alexandra Hospital later on in the day after cracking under CPIB's interrogation.

He was then hospitalised until 5 April 2012.

Tey recounted in court Tuesday how he went back to CPIB for more questioning despite being ill and in a vulnerable state.

He is currently contesting the admissibility of his CPIB statements, saying that they were made under duress.

The court will then decide if his statements are admissible at the end of the “trial within a trial”.

The main trial will then start after this.

- CNA/jc

- wong chee tat :)




















Prosecution trades barbs with law professor in sex-for-grades trial

Prosecution trades barbs with law professor in sex-for-grades trial

The prosecution and the law professor at the centre of a sex-for-grades corruption trial traded barbs in court on Wednesday, with the prosecution saying that the professor had a "flair for drama"

SINGAPORE: The prosecution on Wednesday described the law professor at the centre of a sex-for-grades trial as having a "flair for drama", and said that he was “making things up” as he went along.

Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.

Taking the stand for the third consecutive day, the 41-year-old traded barbs with lead prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, who is trying to prove the voluntariness of Tey's statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) .

The court will then decide if Tey’s statements are admissible at the end of the “trial within a trial”. The main corruption trial will take place thereafter.

Tey has maintained throughout the trial that he was coerced into making confessions to the CPIB, saying that six of his CPIB statements were made under duress.

Over the past two days in court, Tey demonstrated how three CPIB officers, including CPIB deputy director Teng Khee Fatt, threatened him.

Tey said that the officers humiliated him, banged on the table to intimidate him and hurled vulgarities at him.

On Tuesday, Tey said Mr Teng had fabricated some parts of his statements, which were recorded by the officer in May 2012.

Mr Teng had recorded three of Tey's six statements.

However on Wednesday Tey clarified that the word "fabricated" insinuated criminal intent and that it was not his words, but Mr Jumabhoy's.

Mr Jumabhoy then went through multiple examples of threats and oppression raised over the past two days by Tey, and pointed out that Tey never questioned Mr Teng and two of his officers when they appeared in court in January.

Tey admitted he failed to do so and said that it was "a fatal mistake" on his part, explaining that he had been on medication and had problems recollecting details.

Mr Jumabhoy then asked Tey if he thought his demonstrations over the last few days were dramatic.

Tey said he was not sure how they are perceived but insisted that he was just trying his best to recollect and tell his side of the story.

This led the prosecution to say that Tey clearly had a flair for drama, while Tey said that he was not a dramatist but a law professor.

The prosecution argued that there were two accounts of what transpired during the recording sessions, with one account told by CPIB officers in January and the other by Tey.

The prosecution insisted that Tey's account was made up, while Tey maintained that the prosecution had no basis for saying so, instead calling the CPIB a "confession-centric organisation".

- CNA/xq

- wong chee tat :)