Francis Seow
Encyclopedia
Francis Seow is a Singapore
-born political
dissident
who is in exile
from Singapore after lawsuits by the former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew. He was educated
at Saint Joseph's Institution
in Singapore and at the Middle Temple in London
. Seow is currently a United States
citizen
residing in Massachusetts
, and was a Visiting Fellow
at Harvard Law School
.
Service in 1956 and rose through the ranks to become Solicitor-General in 1969, a position he held until 1971. During his career
he served under the administration of then Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
and was appointed senior counsel to a Commission of Inquiry in the Secondary IV examination boycott
by Chinese
student
s in 1963 prior to Singapore's entry into Malaysia. For his work, Seow was awarded the Public Administration (Gold) Medal. He eventually left public service and entered into private law practice in 1972.
He was later suspended from law practice for 12 months by Chief Justice
Wee Chong Jin
for breach of an undertaking given on behalf of his junior law partner to the Attorney-General
while in private practice. Nonetheless, he was later elected a member of the Council of the Law Society in 1976 and eventually became its President
in 1986.
His new appointment led to a falling out with Lee Kuan Yew after he became embroiled in the politics surrounding the role of the Law Society. He had envisaged a restoration of the role of the Law Society to, inter alia, comment on legislation that the government was then churning out without any meaningful parliamentary debate, a role which Prime Minister Lee took especial exception to. In the result, Prime Minister Lee caused special legislation to be passed depriving the Law Society, inter alia, of any powers to comment on any legislation unless the government specifically asks the Law Society for its comments. He ran for the Parliament of Singapore
as part of the Workers' Party
team that contested the Eunos Group Representation Constituency
in the 1988 Singapore general election. However, his team managed to secure 49.11% of valid votes, "losing marginally" to the PAP stronghold.
Macabre political intrigues followed the post-election excitement. Just before the election, he was detained without trial
under the Internal Security Act
for 72 days, accused of having received political Campaign finance
from the United States to promote democracy
in Singapore. According to his account, he was subjected to torture
, including sleep deprivation
and intense cold air-conditioning. Later, while awaiting trial for alleged tax evasion
, he left for United States for health treatment and disregarded numerous court summons to return for trial. Subsequently, he was convicted in absentia
. These events are speculated to have been politically motivated, and part of a pattern of lawsuit
s and criminal
proceedings against dissenters in Singapore. Despite his exile he has spoken at events organized by Singapore student societies in universities outside of Singapore.
In a 1989 interview in London, Seow told The Sunday Times that he would return to Singapore to face tax evasion charges.
On October 8, 2011, Seow with exiled dissident lawyer Tang Fong Har
publicly addressed a Singapore Democratic Party
forum from abroad via teleconferencing. In the address they advocated abolishing the Internal Security Act
(ISA). Singapore Police were investigating the legality of the event the following day.
Seow has a son and a daughter.
To Catch a Tartar: A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew's prison. In the book, Seow recounts his career in the legal service, opposition politics and his personal experience of being detained by the Internal Security Department. He also accuses the government of Singapore
of authoritarianism
and human rights
abuses under then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
. The book also contains a foreword
by former Singapore President Devan Nair
that is equally critical of the Singapore government. Since then Seow has written another book, The Media Enthralled, which describes how he believes the Singapore government undermined freedom of the media
and turned them into pro-government mouthpieces.
He is also author of Beyond Suspicion? - The Singapore Judiciary.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-born political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
who is in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
from Singapore after lawsuits by the former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew. He was educated
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
at Saint Joseph's Institution
Saint Joseph's Institution
Saint Joseph's Institution is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as "Saint John's Institution", and is the third oldest educational institution in Singapore .SJI provides an education to boys of all races and...
in Singapore and at the Middle Temple in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Seow is currently a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
residing in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and was a Visiting Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Biography
Seow joined the Singapore LegalLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
Service in 1956 and rose through the ranks to become Solicitor-General in 1969, a position he held until 1971. During his career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
he served under the administration of then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
and was appointed senior counsel to a Commission of Inquiry in the Secondary IV examination boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
by Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s in 1963 prior to Singapore's entry into Malaysia. For his work, Seow was awarded the Public Administration (Gold) Medal. He eventually left public service and entered into private law practice in 1972.
He was later suspended from law practice for 12 months by Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Wee Chong Jin
Wee Chong Jin
Wee Chong Jin was born in Penang to parents Wee Gim Puay and Lim Paik Yew. He received his early education at the Penang Free School, and read law at St John's College, Cambridge...
for breach of an undertaking given on behalf of his junior law partner to the Attorney-General
Attorney-General of Singapore
The Attorney-General of Singapore is the legal adviser to the government of the Republic of Singapore and its public prosecutor.The office was founded in 1867 as the chief legal officer of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements. The current requirements for appointment as...
while in private practice. Nonetheless, he was later elected a member of the Council of the Law Society in 1976 and eventually became its President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
in 1986.
His new appointment led to a falling out with Lee Kuan Yew after he became embroiled in the politics surrounding the role of the Law Society. He had envisaged a restoration of the role of the Law Society to, inter alia, comment on legislation that the government was then churning out without any meaningful parliamentary debate, a role which Prime Minister Lee took especial exception to. In the result, Prime Minister Lee caused special legislation to be passed depriving the Law Society, inter alia, of any powers to comment on any legislation unless the government specifically asks the Law Society for its comments. He ran for the Parliament of Singapore
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
as part of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Singapore
The Workers' Party of Singapore is a centre-left opposition political party in Singapore. The party currently has six elected seats in Parliament, with the party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Pritam Singh serving as Members of...
team that contested the Eunos Group Representation Constituency
Eunos Group Representation Constituency
Eunos Group Representation Constituency is a defunct Group Representation Constituency in the north-eastern region of Singapore...
in the 1988 Singapore general election. However, his team managed to secure 49.11% of valid votes, "losing marginally" to the PAP stronghold.
Macabre political intrigues followed the post-election excitement. Just before the election, he was detained without trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Singapore)
The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
for 72 days, accused of having received political Campaign finance
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
from the United States to promote democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in Singapore. According to his account, he was subjected to torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, including sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
and intense cold air-conditioning. Later, while awaiting trial for alleged tax evasion
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
, he left for United States for health treatment and disregarded numerous court summons to return for trial. Subsequently, he was convicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
. These events are speculated to have been politically motivated, and part of a pattern of lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s and criminal
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
proceedings against dissenters in Singapore. Despite his exile he has spoken at events organized by Singapore student societies in universities outside of Singapore.
In a 1989 interview in London, Seow told The Sunday Times that he would return to Singapore to face tax evasion charges.
On October 8, 2011, Seow with exiled dissident lawyer Tang Fong Har
Tang Fong Har
Tang Fong Har, a lawyer, was detained on 20 June 1987 by the government of Singapore during Operation Spectrum under the Internal Security Act. Her detention was speculated by many as a mean to crush political dissidents. In her letter, she states that she was physically abused, kept incommunicado...
publicly addressed a Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
forum from abroad via teleconferencing. In the address they advocated abolishing the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Singapore)
The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
(ISA). Singapore Police were investigating the legality of the event the following day.
Seow has a son and a daughter.
Writings
Francis Seow tells his story in the semi-autobiographicalAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
To Catch a Tartar: A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew's prison. In the book, Seow recounts his career in the legal service, opposition politics and his personal experience of being detained by the Internal Security Department. He also accuses the government of Singapore
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...
of authoritarianism
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses under then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
. The book also contains a foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
by former Singapore President Devan Nair
Devan Nair
Devan Nair a/l Chengara Veetil, also known as C. V. Devan Nair , was the third President of Singapore and was elected by Parliament on October 23, 1981. He served as President until his resignation on March 28, 1985.-Youth:Nair was born in Malacca, Malaysia, the son of an Indian immigrant I.V.K...
that is equally critical of the Singapore government. Since then Seow has written another book, The Media Enthralled, which describes how he believes the Singapore government undermined freedom of the media
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
and turned them into pro-government mouthpieces.
He is also author of Beyond Suspicion? - The Singapore Judiciary.
See also
- Tang Fong HarTang Fong HarTang Fong Har, a lawyer, was detained on 20 June 1987 by the government of Singapore during Operation Spectrum under the Internal Security Act. Her detention was speculated by many as a mean to crush political dissidents. In her letter, she states that she was physically abused, kept incommunicado...
- Internal Security ActInternal Security Act (Singapore)The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
- Operation SpectrumOperation SpectrumOperation Spectrum was launched on May 21, 1987 by Singapore's Internal Security Department using the Internal Security Act . 16 people were arrested for their involvement in what was described as a "Marxist conspiracy". On June 20, 1987, four of the original 16 were released and six more were...
External links
- Review of To Catch a Tartar written by D. Zagoria
- Review written by Francis Seow - Escape from Paradise
- Transcript of Francis Seow's ST interview
- Reviews - Beyond Suspicion? The Singapore Judiciary
- I'll return to face charges, says Francis Seow
- New bid made to get trial started, Seow knew about summonses, says prosecuters