While the trial for Dr Chee Soon Juan is still going on at the Subordinate, another charge is under preparation.
Dr Chee, together with Mr Gandhi Ambalam and Mr Yap Keng Ho, is being charged with speaking in public without a valid licence during the election period in Apr 06. The verdict will be announced on 23 Nov.
Dr Chee was again in court today, this time for a pre-trial conference to set dates for the trial in which he is charged with attempting to leave Singapore without permission on 1 Apr 06.
The trial for this new charge is set for 21 Dec 06 and will be heard in Subordinate Court 5.
As a bankrupt, he is not allowed to leave the country without permission from the Official Assignee.
Dr Chee had applied for a permit to attend the 4th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Turkey earlier this year. However, the Official Assignee had delayed replying to him and made excuses in order to not process the application (see statement).
When the SDP secretary-general arrived at the airport, he was detained and his passport was seized. He was later escorted out of the airport.
The Government has refused to return Dr Chee his passport and has since denied him his right to attend international conferences even though he does not incur his own expenses for such visits.
Whenever he is invited, Dr Chee talks about the lack of democracy in Singapore and the continued repression by the PAP. He has repeatedly called for international support for the democratisation of Singapore.