extracted from ST forum.
I AM intrigued by the pall of official silence on Securities
Investors Assocation of Singapore chief David Gerald's public
admission that his public appeal for financial assistance to pay
his court bill was met by a member of the public, as reported in
The Straits Times ('Relief for David Gerald'; ST, Oct 1), albeit he
had reportedly started the defamation suit against Mr David Ban in
his personal and private capacity.
While my response may seem belated, I had looked forward to the
relevant authority clarifying whether it is proper for a person to
seek public help for public money, or that there are rules in place
that require compliance by anyone seeking to raise public money for
a private purpose.
It would seem to me, in light of Mr Gerald's reported admission to
The Straits Times that his court bill was settled by a member of
the public and the official silence that followed:
arr That any person may seek public help without official approval
or licence from the relevant authority for the collection of public
monies
arr That no official guideline exists as to the qualifications of
anyone seeking public financial assistance
As a corollary, something is remiss somewhere, officially, that is,
if the answers are negative to both these propositions.
In gist, this could be tantamount either to an official dereliction
of duties or pure negligence in the discharge of official duties on
the part of the authority concerned, as considerable press coverage
was given to Mr Gerald's case.
Would the relevant authority kindly assist to clarify the issues
involved?
I am sure there are many out there among our citizens who would
want to have recourse to this avenue to raise public funds for our
private debts if we can do so.
Yap Swee Hoo