CHEE Siok Chin, sister of the Singapore Democratic Party chief, was found guilty of contempt of court on Friday.

Her brother, Chee Soon Juan, however, had his hearing adjourned until Monday to allow his new lawyer, veteran politician J.B. Jeyaretnam to familiarise himself with the case.

Both Chees were called to face the judge on Friday to explain their conduct in the three-day trial to assess damages in the defamation suit involving Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In Friday's hearing, Ms Chee's lawyer M. Ravi had argued that charges of contempt of court should be brought against the parties immediately after they happened to prevent the obstruction of justice and not be held over until the end of the hearing.

He called it a case of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted.

Justice Ang subsequently ruled that Ms Chee was guilty.

Ms Chee will be sentenced on Monday, before her brother's hearing.

Monday's hearing will mark a rare public joining of forces for the pair, among only a very small number of Singaporeans to have spoken out against the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled since 1959.

Justice Belinda Ang Saw Ean has ordered Chee to court to show why he should not be charged with contempt over his 'attacks on the judiciary' during a hearing to determine libel damages.

Chee Soon Juan was jailed for eight days in March 2006, after questioning the integrity of the judicial system in a statement he read during his bankruptcy hearing earlier that year.

He was declared bankrupt after failing to pay S$500,000 in libel damages to MM Lee Kuan Yew and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong over remarks made in 2001.

Mr Jeyaretnam, 82, who last month filed papers to register the new opposition Reform Party, made political history in 1981 when he became the first opposition politician elected to parliament.

He was then secretary general of the Workers' Party.

In 2001, he was declared bankrupt and disbarred after he failed to pay libel damages to members of the PAP, including former prime minister Goh Chok Tong.

Earlier on Friday, a judge fined Chee for speaking in public without a permit.

He will be jailed for five weeks if he does not pay the S$5,000 fine, Judge Jasvender Kaur ruled.

Chee has served previous jail terms for earlier convictions on similar charges of speaking without a permit.

He was charged with eight counts of speaking to the public without a licence between November 2005 and April 2006 - just ahead of a general election - according to court documents.

Most of the charges have not yet been tried in court.