Top UK lawyer who defeated Boris Johnson’s government advises Singapore PM’s estranged nephew Li Shengwu
- Facing contempt charges in the Lion City, the US-based economist has revealed that David Pannick QC is ‘advising’ him in politically charged case
- Pannick defeated Johnson’s attempt to suspend the UK parliament in an apparent attempt to force through a no-deal Brexit
Li Shengwu, a nephew of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has revealed he is taking advice from a Queen's Counsel who helped defeat the British government's recent attempt to suspend parliament.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Li Shengwu " who is facing contempt of court charges linked to a bitter family feud " said his legal team had been taking advice from David Pannick for the past two years.
Legal heavyweight Pannick and fellow Queen's Counsel Tom Hickman, both of London's Blackstone Chambers, were the barristers for the activist and businesswoman Gina Miller " one of the parties who brought legal action against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's prorogation of parliament.
The British Supreme Court voted 11-0 in favour of the petitioners on Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Johnson's government and forcing the reopening of the legislature.
Critics have charged that Johnson had unlawfully advised Queen Elizabeth to suspend parliament for five weeks so he did not have to deal with a House that overwhelmingly opposed his strategy for Brexit.
"I'm grateful for Lord Pannick's guidance and help, even as he has been in the midst of winning a landmark case in Britain," said Li, the eldest son of Prime Minister Lee's brother Lee Hsien Yang.
Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Hsien Yang and their neurosurgeon sister Lee Wei Ling are the children of Lee Kuan Yew, the country's late independence leader who died in 2015.
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The family is widely seen as the country's unofficial "first family", and the bitter feud between the current prime minister " the patriarch's eldest child " and his two siblings over the future of their family bungalow captured national attention in 2016.
In his post, Li, a Harvard University professor, added that he had just filed his defence affidavit for the case.
It was brought on by the Singaporean Attorney General's Chambers in 2017, following a Facebook post about the city state's judiciary.
Public prosecutors had initially asked for an apology for the post, in which Li had said the Singapore government was "very litigious and has a pliant court system".
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After he failed to abide by the order " claiming the post was taken out of context " prosecutors brought a charge of "scandalising the judiciary" against him. It carries a possible jail sentence, a fine, or both, with no maximum penalty.
Li has said he has no interest in returning to Singapore but has had lawyers representing him in proceedings surrounding the case.
The Lee family feud continues to simmer three years after it was first thrust into the public limelight.
Prime Minister Lee earlier in September initiated libel proceedings against the chief editor of a blog that had published claims by Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling against their brother.
Lee's representatives said while he had stayed his hand on taking legal action against his siblings, he considered their claims " on alleged abuse of power " to be defamatory, and reserved the right to sue others who repeated the allegations.
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Lee Hsien Yang, a former army general turned businessman, recently endorsed a new opposition party led by a veteran of the prime minister's People's Action Party.
That has led commentators to suggest Lee Hsien Yang may decide to run as a candidate in an impending general election, bringing the siblings' feud to the political arena.
Prime Minister Lee has until April 2021 to call the next polls but observers say he could trigger a snap election as early as December.
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