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Workers’ Party MPs make public appeal to raise money to pay for AHTC lawsuit

SINGAPORE — Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim and her fellow Members of Parliament (MPs) Low Thia Khiang and Pritam Singh are appealing to the public to help them pay the bill for their ongoing civil lawsuits.

The three Members of Parliament wrote a post on their blog, In Good Faith, saying that they have paid close to S$600,000 to their lawyers using their personal savings and contributions from friends. The costs incurred so far “have depleted our personal resources”.

The three Members of Parliament wrote a post on their blog, In Good Faith, saying that they have paid close to S$600,000 to their lawyers using their personal savings and contributions from friends. The costs incurred so far “have depleted our personal resources”.

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SINGAPORE — Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim and her fellow Members of Parliament (MPs) Low Thia Khiang and Pritam Singh are appealing to the public to help them pay the bill for their ongoing civil lawsuits.

The trio and two other town councillors are being sued by the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) and an independent panel acting on behalf of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC). Between 2011 and 2015, they are alleged to have wrongfully paid S$33.7 million to managing agent FM Solutions and Services, and other third-party service providers.

On Wednesday (Oct 24), the three MPs wrote a post on their blog, In Good Faith, saying that they have paid close to S$600,000 to their lawyers using their personal savings and contributions from friends.

"We have not used any funds from the Workers’ Party," they said.

The costs incurred so far were for the lawyers' work done before the trial and “have depleted our personal resources,” they added.

“We need financial resources to fight the legal battle and to deal with the prospect of being made a bankrupt... We now appeal to the public for financial support.”

WP’s Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh confirmed in a Facebook post on the same day that the appeal was “bona fide”.

The lawsuits brought against Ms Lim, Mr Low, and Mr Singh alleged that they and two other town councillors failed in their duties managing AHTC, and are liable to repay the improper payments to the two town councils.

The trial in High Court began on Oct 5, and is scheduled to run until Nov 2. They are represented by Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah from Tan, Rajah & Cheah.

The MPs wrote: “The total sum claimed against us is potentially more than S$30 million, even though we are not accused of receiving any of these monies personally.

“The claims against us are unfounded. We have acted in good faith, and did what we believed to be in the best interests of our residents and the town council.

“We will fight the claims vigorously. If we lose the suits and are adjudged to pay large sums of money, and are unable to pay, we would face bankruptcy.”

If they are made bankrupts, the three MPs for the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) will lose their parliamentary seats.

The trio have asked for contributions to be made via cheque, Internet fund transfer, or PayNow. They also asked donors to leave their email addresses so that they can thank them.  

Related topics

Workers' Party AHTC PRPTC Sylvia Lim Low Thia Khiang Pritam Singh

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