Tang Liang Hong

Tang was born in Singapore during British colonial rule on 2 October 1935. He would later study at Nanyang University in 1962 before moving to the University of Singapore to study law the following year. He graduated in 1967 and joined the bar a year later at the age of 33. == Career ==

Tang opened a law firm in 1968. and also sat on the board of management of The Chinese High School. He was also part of the management committee for Hwa Chong Junior College and River Valley High School. Among the founding members were a former Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, retired academics Wu Teh Yao and Lau Wai Har, Chinese-language writer and Cultural Medallion recipient Wong Meng Voon. Political career In 1992, Tang was nominated to be a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) by the Chinese community but was not chosen by the government. Prime minister Goh said that the NMP scheme was not for representation for ethnic or linguistic lines and that the group representation constituency (GRC) system ensured representation of the minority groups. Tang came under fire from the PAP after he raised the issue of the Hotel Properties Limited apartment sales in 1995 during the election campaign. This issue arose after the Stock Exchange of Singapore had previously criticised Hotel Properties Ltd for its "tardiness" in disclosing details of sales of its condominium units to directors and their family members, which included senior minister Lee Kuan Yew, who had purchased a unit and whose brother was a director of the company. On polling day, the WP's team in Cheng San GRC lost to the PAP's team by 44,132 votes (45.18%) to 53,553 (54.82%). This was the highest percentage of the vote garnered by any opposition losing candidates, and was therefore enough to secure one of the team's members a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP). Former GRC teammate Jeyaretnam and Singapore Democratic Party's secretary general Chee Soon Juan also joined the organisation. == Defamation suits ==

In a 1996 interview with Hong Kong-based magazine Yazhou Zhoukan, opposition politician and lawyer Tang Liang Hong opined that "professional bodies" such as the Commercial Affairs Department or the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau ought to have handled the investigation of the Senior Minister (SM) Lee Kuan Yew and his son Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong property purchases. Tang made similar claims regarding the Lees' transactions with HPL at three Workers' Party rallies on 31 December 1996. The Lees subsequently sued Tang for libel. Tang was represented by his law firm, Tang & Co while the Lees were represented by Lee & Lee. In November, Tang applied for Queen's Counsel (QC) Charles Gray to represent him which was approved as nine lawyers had rejected his request to be his representation. The Lees also applied for representation by a QC. and High Court judge Lai Kew Chai ruled that worldwide assets belonging to Tang and his wife (valued at S$11.2 million) were to be frozen. Lai countered that he had done so "separately and independently". who accused him of making statements during the campaign which falsely questioned their integrity. A total of 13 judgements were entered against Tang for defamation. Tang also subsequently faced charges from the Inland Revenue Department for evading taxes. After Tang left Singapore, he did not return for the hearings of the defamation suits and had also sacked his lawyers. When Tang failed to file an affidavit disclosing his assets, the plaintiffs obtained default judgements against Tang in all their suits. Damages were assessed by a judge of the High Court at a total of S$739,976. The High Court also declared Tang as bankrupt. Yazhou Zhoukan, which was involved in the first set of defamation suits, was ordered to pay S$900,000 in damages. In November, the Court of Appeal reduced the original total amount from S$7.175 million to $3.63 million. As Yazhou Zhoukan had already paid the damages, the court did not consider a reduction in amount for it. == Personal life and death ==

Three days after 1997 general election, Tang left Singapore for Johor, Malaysia, His wife Teo Siew Har's passport was then impounded but later released. Eventually Tang moved to Australia, where he was reunited with his wife. His death was only made known on 2 October following an obituary in The Straits Times. == Notes ==