Facebook page deleted, mobile phone turned off. Even fellow party
members are unable to get in touch with former Workers' Party (WP)
Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong.
Has he gone missing? Did he flee the country? These are some
questions on people's minds after news broke out about
his alleged affairs.
The New Paper and Lianhe Wanbao reported that Mr Yaw was spotted
alone with luggage on Wednesday night at Changi Airport Terminal
1.
According to The New Paper, Mr Yaw was no longer in Singapore by
the time WP announced his expulsion at a press conference held at
5pm.
After the announcement, a Lianhe Wanbao reporter attempted to
contact Mr Yaw via iPhone's WhatsApp app, and noticed that the last
time he was online was 6.29pm.
Mr Yaw was not at home when reporters visited him at 11.30pm and
the next day at 6am.
Lianhe Wanbao also reported that the married woman in question has
not returned home for a few weeks.
This is the first time an MP was expelled based on allegations of
his private life.
For the past month, Mr Yaw remained tight-lipped on allegations
accusing him of having an extramarital affair with a married party
colleague. He also answered all media queries with a "no
comment".
His silence forced the party to act after he avoided several
opportunites to explain himself.
"We have invited Shin Leong to come to speak with the council, but
he has not done so," said Ms Lim at the press conference.
She said that party's central executive council (CEC) gave him one
more shot at explaining himself but he chose not to come.
Ms Lim also said the party could not contact Mr Yaw to inform him
of the CEC's decision to expel him and had to speak to his wife
instead.
The recent incidents have prompted National Development Minister
Khaw Boon Wan to say that WP should come clean with the people and
why it took so long to investigate the allegations.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also commented on WP's handling of
Yaw's alleged affair, saying that the WP has let down Hougang
voters.
However, Mr Tay, a 32-year-old engineer said that he would continue
to support WP.
"As a public figure, Mr Yaw is supposed to be a role model and
should not have done what he supposedly did. This whole issue,
however, does not affect my support for WP," told Mr Tay to The New
Paper.
Some people Lianhe Wanbao spoke to said they will continue to
support WP, while others said they believe that the People's Action
Party will have an opportunity this time to win Hougang
single-member constituency back. Hougang has been in the hands of
WP since 1991.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120216-328355.html
