SINGAPORE : Boon Suan Ban, formerly one of OCBC Securities' top
remisiers, pleaded guilty on Friday to defamation charges pressed
by Chief Justice Yong Pung How.
He was however acquitted on the basis that he was mentally unsound
when he committed the offences.
In January this year, Boon wrote letters to various parties
accusing the Chief Justice of obstructing justice by protecting a
woman he claimed was the Chief Justice's girlfriend.
Boon claimed that she owed him over S$1.3 million in commission and
used the money to buy a bungalow near where the Chief Justice was
staying.
He also accused the Chief Justice of wielding enormous power over
OCBC where the Chief Justice was once Chairman.
When the Chief Justice sued him for libel in February, Boon was
brought to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric
assessment that lasted three weeks.
Psychiatrists testified that Boon was suffering from paranoid
schizophrenia and was mentally unsound when he committed the
crime.
Despite being acquited, Boon will be in remand at the IMH until
psychiatrists testify that he is in the right state of mind to be
released. - CNA