S'pore judge issues warrant for self-exiled politician

S'pore judge issues warrant for self-exiled politician

SINGAPORE (AFP): A Singapore judge issued an arrest warrant
yesterday for self-exiled opposition politician Tang Liang Hong,
after he failed to turn up in court to answer 33 charges of tax
evasion.

Tang, a member of the Workers' Party who fled to Malaysia and
was last known to be in Hong Kong, was accused by the Inland
Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) of failing to pay
S$210,982.56 (US$150,700) in taxes.

Bail was set at S$5,000 dollars per charge or S$165,000 for
all 33 counts of alleged tax evasion.

A millionaire lawyer, Tang is also facing defamation suits
filed by top Singapore leaders, who are seeking a record 12.9
million dollars in damages for statements he made in the campaign
for last January's general election.

The warrant, the first issued against Tang since his troubles
began, was issued by District Judge Brenda Tan on an application
by a legal officer of IRAS, Andy Wong, who said it would be up to
the Singapore police to carry out the arrest order.

"As Mr. Tang's presence is required, I'm issuing a warrant of
arrest," Tan told the court.

Tang, 61, fled Singapore citing death threats after losing by
a slim margin in the January elections. He is believed to be
based in the southern Malaysian city of Johore Bahru, linked by a
causeway to Singapore.

Tang's counsel, Workers' Party chief J. B. Jeyaretnam, told
the judge Tang was not served any summonses personally by the
IRAS and the alleged offenses were fiscal and not criminal in
nature.

He said the tax officers knew Tang could be contacted through
his lawyer in Johore Bahru but did not make an attempt to do so.

"Let's try to be reasonable, let's not go overboard,"
Jeyaretnam said, adding the tax authorities should first give
Tang a chance to answer whatever tax queries they had.

Tang had said in a statement faxed here from Hong Kong
Wednesday that IRAS officials had attempted to serve the
summonses for him to appear in court at his home in Singapore.

"This development come as no surprise to me, because this is
not the first time that the Singapore government has used the
Inland Revenue Department against their political opponents,"
Tang charged in the statement.

In late January, the IRAS seized tax documents from Tang's
home and office in two early morning raids. It had said the raids
were conducted to prevent relevant documents from being destroyed
or tampered with.