Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged on Wednesday in Parliament that he should have acted earlier on the affair between former...
Parliament had gone into recess at the end of March, marking the middle of its five-year term. It resumed after two weeks, on April 10.He had first learnt of their relationship in November 2020,The pair were spoken to and counselled separately, and both said they would stop the affair, which they did not.
He added that there is no single template that applies to all extramarital affairs, but there can be at least three situations. “The present situation falls into this third category. It’s wrong. Mr Tan and Ms Cheng had to stop their affair. I told them to stop.” PM Lee said that after he spoke to Mr Tan in November 2020, he was told that the relationship would end, and he took it to be so.One possible action that could have followed would have been, should the affair have stopped, that PM Lee would ask Mr Tan to step down as Speaker some time before the end of the term, in a way that would reduce the public embarrassment to him and his family.
PM Lee said on Wednesday that he hoped MPs and the public could empathise and have compassion for the families, and give them the privacy and space they need to heal. “Nobody tipped them off. There had been no public scandal. CPIB came across something that needed investigating, and proceeded to do their job,” he said.
“Systems are composed of human beings. In any system, however comprehensive the safeguards, sometimes something will still go wrong. The PAP Government does our utmost to minimise that possibility,” said PM Lee.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘I should have forced the issue sooner’: PM Lee explains approach to Tan Chuan-Jin, Cheng Li Hui affairIn his ministerial statement, PM Lee said he had been asked why he took so long to act. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
PM Lee to deliver statement on Iswaran probe and Tan Chuan Jin-Cheng Li Hui's extramarital affair - Singapore NewsAccording to the order paper, a number of MPs have filed questions on the CPIB probe for Wednesday's parliamentary session
Read more »
'I hoped to give them a softer exit': PM Lee explains why he didn't take earlier action against Tan Chuan-Jin, Cheng Li HuiPrime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he should have 'forced the issue sooner' when dealing with the extramarital affair between former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and former Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui. PM Lee delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament on Wednesday (Aug 2), addressing why he did not take action against Tan and Cheng earlier, despite finding out...
Read more »
PM Lee says he should have ‘forced the issue earlier’ after learning of PAP MPs' affairPrime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tells parliament he had hoped to save Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui, as well as their families, from pain and embarrassment.
Read more »
PM Lee says he should have ‘forced the issue earlier’ after learning of PAP MPs' affair, instead of protecting their familiesSINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Aug 2) said that in hindsight, after learning of an extramarital affair between former lawmakers Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui, he should have “forced the issue earlier” rather than place 'perhaps too much' weight on protecting their families.
Read more »