Lawyer appointed to represent Li Shengwu in contempt of court case
Lawyer Abraham Vergis (on the left), has been appointed to represent Mr Li Shengwu (on the right), the nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a contempt of court case. Photos: Providencelawasia.com (left) and Li Shengwu/Facebook
SINGAPORE — Lawyer Abraham Vergis, managing director of Providence Law, has been appointed to represent Mr Li Shengwu, the nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a contempt of court case.
A pre-trial conference for the case was held on Monday (Nov 13). The case was launched by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in response to a private Facebook post made by the Harvard academic, 32, on July 15.
In the post, Mr Li had shared a Wall Street Journal article on the dispute between his father, uncle and aunt Lee Wei Ling over his late grandfather founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s property at 38 Oxley Road. He also wrote that the Singapore Government was “litigious” and has a “pliant court system”.
Speaking to TODAY after the pre-trial conference, Mr Vergis said he has asked for time to review the papers filed by the AGC. The lawyer was appointed on Monday but declined to say when he was approached for assistance in the case.
The next pre-trial conference has been scheduled for December 4. TODAY understands that Mr Li is still based in the United States.
The AGC had written to Mr Li six days after his July 15 post, requesting him to “purge the contempt” by deleting the post and issuing a written apology and undertaking on his Facebook page.
Noting that he had not complied by Aug 4, the AGC filed an application for permission to start contempt of court proceedings in the High Court, which was granted on Aug 21.
Under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act that came into force in October, those who commit contempt of the High Court or Court of Appeal can be fined up to S$100,000, and/or jailed up to three years.
