Law prof in sex-for-grades trial was "inventing evidence": prosecution

Law prof in sex-for-grades trial was "inventing evidence": prosecution

By Claire Huang
POSTED: 08 Apr 2013 5:29 PM
UPDATED: 08 Apr 2013 9:32 PM

The law professor defending himself in the sex-for-grades corruption trial "was clearly inventing evidence as he went along". The prosecution said this in its oral submissions on Monday in the "trial-within-trial" hearing.

SINGAPORE: The law professor in the sex-for-grades corruption trial "was clearly inventing evidence as he went along".

The prosecution said this in its oral submissions on Monday in the "trial-within-trial" hearing.

On Monday, the prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy told the court that Tey Tsun Hang had made various allegations of threat and inducement by three CPIB officers - Deputy Director Teng Khee Fatt, Officer Bay Chun How and Officer Wilson Khoo.

Tey, 41, alleged that CPIB officers who recorded his six statements had threatened him and hurled expletives at him.

He also said at that time, he was suffering from acute stress disorder.

The chief district judge will decide on Tuesday if Tey was coerced into giving statements to the authorities.

This comes after a 15-day hearing, of which 10 were devoted to the admissibility of Tey’s statements to the CPIB.

Mr Jumabhoy said Tey put one set of allegations to the prosecution witnesses, including the three officers, but came up with a different set of allegations when he testified.

Tey also failed to ask the CPIB officers on the later allegations when he testified.

Mr Jumabhoy said Tey "could not offer any proper explanation for why he had failed to put these new allegations to the prosecution witnesses".

Tey's lawyer, Peter Low, pointed out that Tey's psychiatrist, Dr Michael Yong, had taken the stand to testify that he was neither putting up a show nor lying.

Senior Counsel Low then added that not every inconsistency was material to the case, that they were peripheral.

The judge then raised two key issues -- Tey did not disclose his allegations of abuse to anyone.

"What is absent before us is that he didn't disclose this to anyone. He didn't complain. How is that so?" said the chief district judge.

He pointed out that Tey, being a professor of law and former district judge, could have told his colleagues about the abuse and he voluntarily returned to the CPIB to give statements even after apparently being subjected to harsh treatment by the officers.

Senior Counsel Low said Tey did list his allegations in one of his last statements to the authority, and as for his return to the CPIB, he countered that the officers were eager to have his client back for questioning.

If the judge finds Tey's CPIB statements cannot be relied upon, the prosecution will not be able to ask questions relating to them in the main corruption trial.

If the statements are admitted in court, the prosecution will be able to pose questions regarding those statements in the main trial.

Tey faces six allegations that he corruptly obtained gifts and sex from his former student, Darinne Ko, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.

- CNA/xq

- wong chee tat :)