REQUESTS REJECTED: Dr Chee felt that by sitting in on PM Lee's cross-examination, MM Lee would be able to prepare his own answers for the next day. -- ST PHOTOS: AZIZ HUSSIN
SINGAPORE Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan tried twice yesterday to get Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew removed from court.
His argument was that he did not want him to hear what he had to say, as it would help Mr Lee prepare his answers during cross-examination the next day.
Both requests, however, were rejected by Justice Belinda Ang, after Senior Counsel Davinder Singh pointed out that MM Lee was a party to the case and had every right to be in court throughout.
His first try occurred shortly after the Minister Mentor stepped into court.
As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was being cross-examined at the time, he said he did not want MM Lee to listen in on the questions.
He reasoned that since the affidavits filed by both Lees were very similar, his questions to both would be similar.
'I do not want Mr Lee Senior to be in here listening to all these questions and then come in the courtroom tomorrow and be prepared,' he said.
The first setback did not deter Dr Chee from trying again later in the day, and this time he tried to get both MM Lee and PM Lee out.
When Mr Singh objected to a document Dr Chee produced while cross- examining PM Lee and asked him how it was relevant to the case, he replied: 'I would like to tell you, but I don't want to tell you in the presence of the witness.'
This sparked a 10-minute exchange during which Dr Chee insisted on explaining the relevance of the document - a news report quoting MM Lee's press secretary Yeong Yoon Ying - only if both Lees stepped outside.
To put an end to the delay, Justice Ang let Dr Chee proceed with his question, which was whether Madam Yeong was a civil servant, paid for by the State. Mr Singh objected to the question as irrelevant to the assessment of damages.
Another time, Dr Chee tried to get the court to explain the presence of the security officers accompanying the Lees, and to get their names.
'The least you can do is ask them to leave,' he told the judge.