Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), which has been charged in court with offence of holding a Chinese New Year fair in Hougang Central without a licence, is claiming trial.

Accompanied by lawyers Peter Low and Terence Tan, AHPETC chairman Sylvia Lim turned up at court on Tuesday to respond to the charge faced by the town council. "We intend to mount a defence and seek justice from the court," Ms Lim told reporters outside the Subordinate Courts. "I would also like to clarify that the lawyers we have hired are from the same firm that I am associated with. We will not be touching any town council's funds to mount this defence. We will be raising funds from elsewhere. Neither me nor any Workers' Party members will have any share in any fees that are paid to the law firm."

Last month, the National Environment Agency (NEA) issued summons to the town council after AHPETC allegedly continued to "blatantly break the law and wilfully exposed their tenants to legal action," said an NEA spokesman.

In an earlier statement, the Workers' Party-run AHPETC had said that it "initiated communications with the NEA over its intention to run the event since Dec 20 last year, with the nature of the community fair and the benefit to residents clearly stated".