Yesterday, a two-judge Court of Appeal allowed the 53-year- old woman to resurrect a lawsuit she first filed in 2004 against the Government for alleged wrongful dismissal.

Ms Lai had succeeded last year in getting the High Court to reinstate her lawsuit, which was earlier deemed to have been discontinued under court rules because she did not take any steps in the legal action for more than one year.

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) appealed against this decision.

Deputy Principal Senior State Counsel Mavis Chionh argued that Ms Lai had persistently flouted proper legal procedures and stubbornly refused to heed various warnings by the court to obey the rules.

Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and V.K. Rajah dismissed the appeal, but made it clear to Ms Lai that they were upholding the High Court decision only because the AGC could not show that the lower court was plainly wrong.

'I think you're walking a very thin line at the moment in terms of procedural delays and lapses,' said Justice Rajah.

He added that it was apparent that the lower court has given her 'every opportunity of indulgence' but there must come a point in time where the indulgences have to stop.

Ms Lai, who was a senior officer at the Land Office of the Law Ministry, was dismissed on Dec17, 1998 after two years of service.

She then embarked on a series of legal actions challenging her dismissal.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times