SINGAPORE - The opposition National Solidarity Party (NSP), beset already by internal party turmoil and the loss of several potential candidates, has lodged a police report over an alleged trespassing incident at the office of a party member.
In a Facebook post on Friday titled "KATONGGATE GE2015", the NSP said party leaders had met at the office located in the Katong/East Coast Road area on Monday night to discuss preparations for the Sept 11 General Election.
"On Tuesday night, 25 August, at about 9:30 pm, 4 persons entered those offices without permission and started to take photographs and videos of the premises,including the meeting area where the Party Leaders had held their meeting the previous night.
"Nothing was stolen or damaged in the meeting areas, ruling out burglary and vandalism.
"An eyewitness who happened upon them, approached them and asked what they were doing. They claimed that they were from the mainstream media.
"Obviously, this was trespassing in order to steal information regarding NSP's strategy in the upcoming GE2015."
The NSP said the "four intruders were captured on CCTV and police reports have been made regarding the incident".
"The police are investigating the incident seriously. The NSP is also conducting its own investigations," it added.
"We shall keep the public and our supporters informed of the ongoing investigations into this incident."
The NSP has suffered setbacks in the lead-up to the Sept 11 polls and lost several of the party's 12 potential candidates it had planned to field.
Acting secretary-general Hazel Poa resigned from the NSP on Aug 19 after she disagreed with the party's decision to enter a three-cornered fight with the Workers' Party (WP) in the MacPherson Single-Member Constituency (SMC).
The NSP previously announced on Aug 10 it would not contest the constituency and the Marine Parade GRC to avoid three-way fights with the WP and the People's Action Party (PAP), which could split the opposition vote in favour to the ruling party.
Central executive committee (CEC) member Steve Chia, who had pushed for the NSP leadership to reconsider contesting MacPherson and dropped hints that he would be the likely candidate, announced in a post on his Facebook page that he would not be contesting the Sept 11 polls. His announcement suggested the NSP had again decided to leave the WP to take on the PAP.
The NSP's twists and turns prompted another resignation last Monday by CEC member Mohamed Fazli Talip, saying the party's position has been damaged by its decisions, and he wanted to "protect my own credibility".
The developments triggered speculation the NSP might not be able to field 12 candidates in the Sembawang and Tampines GRCs, and also the MacPherson and Pioneer SMCs.
NSP president Sebastian Teo told The Straits Times in an interview last Monday that it remain committed to those constituencies.
Still, the NSP's turmoil has prompted moves by other parties such as the Reform Party, which staked its interest to contest Pioneer should the NSP fail to field a candidate.
The party held a walkabout on Sunday morning in Sembawang GRC, hinting that it would still be contesting the five-member constituency.
