19 July 2017
19 July 2017
First of all, my apologies to well-wishers who expressed that they could not understand what this was all about or found what I wrote confusing. It was a challenge to condense 12 years of my life in a few pages in my 1st blog published yesterday. Now I have to try to express it in a page. But I will try because I know that many of you want to understand.
My lawsuit against NUS started in 2012. In 2006, NUS denied me my MA degree, after I had completed ALL the academic requirements in my MA programme. Before I started this lawsuit, I also approached MOE in 2011, but the matter was not resolved. I hope to see justice done, not let NUS get away with its abuse of power, get my MA degree (amongst other damages and losses), hence this lawsuit.
It has been extremely difficult because litigation is expensive and I am suing a public body that has deep pockets. After almost five years in this litigation, my case is finally scheduled to be heard on 1, 2, 3, 4, 18 and 21 August 2017. In order to “set down” or confirm the case for trial in Court on these dates, I have to raise S$11,000 altogether. As matters stand, I have run out of money a long time ago to pay my legal fees.
I managed to get an emergency loan to pay $6,000, just before the deadline last Friday (14 July). If I had failed last Friday, my case would have been dismissed immediately and I would have to pay costs to NUS.
On Monday, 17 July, the Court gave me until today, 19 July, to pay $5,000. However, I have not been able to raise the $5,000 today. But I hope no news from my lawyer is good news, and I hope NUS will not attempt to get the Court to strike out my case as NUS has tried to do last week and in the past because I missed some deadlines.
I only started my abruptly prepared public appeal for donation yesterday, as I was at my wits' end and I was very concerned that my case would not make it for trial in August. So I am appealing to the public for a total of $11,000 which I hope to raise by this Friday, 21 July. I hope NUS will be so kind as not to apply to the Court to strike out my case at this point.
I have difficulties paying my current lawyers at this juncture. And there is still a lot of work to be done. I am more than S100,000 behind in paying my current lawyers. So I hope that I can pay them something before the trial.
I will be posting the daily donations I receive every night or the next morning.
Many thanks for your support, not just the money, but the encouraging and beautiful words of empathy.
A short summary of my NUS woes
I enrolled to a MA programme in NUS in 2002. The 12-year saga with NUS started in 2005 when I asked my supervisor Dr Wong about acknowledgement for using my MA thesis to apply for his research project. Dr Wong retaliated against me. I asked the Head of Department for a change of supervisor and later complained to the Dean and the Vice-Provost of Education. Thus began a chain of cover-up that went all the way up to the current President of NUS by 2009. Vice-Provost Kong convened a COI in June 2005 which lacked transparency and due process. NUS refused to show me the COI Report but informed me: “The Committee of Inquiry, of which you are aware, has resolved that there is insufficient evidence to establish that Dr Wong acted unethically.” (I only found out in 2013 in the lawsuit that the COI actually concluded that Dr Wong should be censured.) By April 2006 NUS confirmed that I had passed my MA thesis. Meanwhile I continued to complain to NUS about the lack of transparency and due process regarding how NUS had handled my complaint. On 11 August 2006, NUS demanded that I provide a written undertaking that I accept the university’s decisions regarding my complaint as a requirement for getting my MA degree. This was unconscionable and I refused. NUS terminated my MA candidature and denied me my MA degree by a letter dated 4 September 2006. I wrote to NUS President Shih Choon Fong and President Tan Chorh Chuan subsequently. Both Presidents upheld the university’s decision to terminate my candidature in 2007 and 2009. I complained to MOE in 2011. In 2012, I started the present legal action against NUS.
Donation details
Paypal:
tljvnus@gmail.com
Bank: POSB Everyday Savings Account 193-69702-0
Ten Leu Jiun Jeanne-Marie
DBS Bank Pte Ltd
12 Marina Boulevard,
DBS Asia Central,
Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3,
Singapore 018982
Singapore
Bank swift code:
DBSSSGSG
Branch code:
081