‘Worst insult possible’

Kangaroo T-shirts trio showed wilful, stubborn contempt for the courts 

By Kor Kian Beng, The Straits Times

		Singapore Democratic Party assistant secretary-general John Tan (right) was jailed 15 days; activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa (centre) and Full-time national serviceman Muhammad Shafi'e Syahmi Sariman (left) were each jailed seven days. All have completed their jail terms. — ST PHOTOS: ALBERT SIM, AZIZ HUSIN

THREE men who wore T-shirts depicting a kangaroo dressed in judge's robes last year presented the worst form of insult possible against the court system here by calling it a 'kangaroo court'.

Justice Judith Prakash, who sentenced them to jail terms last November after finding them to be in contempt of court, said in her written judgment that their conduct showed a wilful and stubborn contempt for the integrity of the courts.

It was also designed to degrade the administration of justice here, she said in her judgment released yesterday.

'The imputation that the Singapore courts are 'kangaroo courts' was a serious and scurrilous insult that struck at the foundation, the body and the spirit of the justice system in Singapore,' she said in explaining her decision and sentencing.

'The message was that justice cannot be obtained in our courts and that our legal proceedings are a sham.'

Describing their actions as the worst form of insult possible against the court system, she said it merited a harsher punishment than that imposed previously.

'It was imperative that a clear message be sent to potential contemners that such attacks on the judiciary are not acceptable,' she said.

The trio in question were John Tan Liang Joo, 47, assistant secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP); activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa, 33; and full-time national serviceman Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman, 20.

They wore the T-shirts when they attended a High Court hearing involving the SDP and its leaders last year.

In her 10-page judgment, Justice Prakash said a reasonable person who saw the T-shirts would conclude they were a reference to the expression 'kangaroo court' – and were intended to cast aspersions on the conduct of the hearings they attended, and the justice system here.

A kangaroo court is a court marked by unauthorised or irregular procedures, or sham and unfair legal proceedings.