Lee Hsien Yang has made a S$20,000 security deposit payment for a civil society activist to appeal against his contempt of court conviction.

This marks the second time in about six months the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has given money to activists embroiled in lawsuits.

Lee made offer

Lee apparently approached activist Jolovan Wham's lawyer with the offer.

The money need not be repaid, Today reported after speaking to Wham.

News of money being paid on behalf of Wham was shared by the activist himself on Twitter on Tuesday, May 22.

My lawyers have informed me that they've put in 20k to the prosecutor's account as security for costs. This is for my appeal against the high court decision which found me guilty of scandalising the judiciary. If I lose, I may not get the full deposit back. Justice is not cheap!

— Jolovan Wham (@jolovanwham) May 21, 2019

Fortunately, the Prime Minister's brother, Lee Hsien Yang reached out to me and offered to put up the security for costs on my behalf. I'm grateful to him for his generosity.

— Jolovan Wham (@jolovanwham) May 21, 2019

No mention was made about the reason or rationale for it.

Lee Hsien Yang response

When Today asked Lee Hsien Yang about the payment, he did not confirm or deny it and said: “What reason do you have to doubt it?”

When asked if this could be taken as confirmation that he made the payment for Wham's security deposit, Lee Hsien Yang told Today: “No, you may not.”

How payment was made

Wham is being represented by lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam on a pro bono basis.

Thuraisingam said Lee contacted the law firm on May 16 that he had made a bank transfer of S$20,000 to the firm for Wham’s security deposit.

Thuraisingam told Today: “We were only told that he had deposited S$20,000 into our client account for Jolovan’s security for costs of the appeal. Nothing else.”

Security deposit practice

Security for costs is a common practice in Singapore to cover the potential costs the other party might incur in arguing the appeal.

An individual has to put up security for costs, or a security deposit, to appeal against a court decision.

The court can decide the amount of the security deposit and the appeal can be dismissed if the security deposit is not made.

Previous financial assistance

In December 2018, Lee Hsien Yang made a donation to blogger Leong Sze Hian, who is being sued by PM Lee for defamation.

Lee Hsien Yang donated a sum of money but it was not revealed how much it was.

Asked why he donated to Leong’s legal fund, Lee Hsien Yang said then: “Surely it needs no explanation?”

About Wham's case

On April 29, Wham and opposition politician John Tan from the Singapore Democratic Party were fined S$5,000 each for contempt of court.

They were found guilty of the offence in October 2018.

Wham had published a Facebook post in April in 2018 alleging that Malaysia's judges were more independent than Singapore's in cases with political implications.

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