By Jeremy Au Yong

OPPOSITION politician Chee Siok Chin has been stopped from attending a Stanford University programme in the United States, as she is an undischarged bankrupt.

The Official Assignee's office, which must give permission before a bankrupt can leave the country, has turned down her request as the programme was deemed to be of no benefit to her creditors.

The Official Assignee's office is sticking to its stand.

Ms Chee applied and was accepted into the Summer fellows Program at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law. It runs from July 28 to Aug 15 at the school's campus in California.

According to information put up on the Singapore Democratic Party website, she was one of 27 people accepted into the annual programme.

Ms Chee subsequently asked for permission to leave the country to attend the course, as bankrupts are required to do.

The SDP committee member and sister of party chief Chee Soon Juan was made bankrupt last year after failing to continue paying costs incurred in a 2005 case that was thrown out by the High Court.

She and three others had staged a protest outside the CPF Building in Robinson Road in August 2005, wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the names of national institutions. Police dispersed them for being a 'public nuisance'.

Three of them including Ms Chee then initiated proceedings against the Home Affairs Minister and Police Commissioner in the High Court, asking it to declare the police action 'unconstitutional'.

The case was thrown out and three ordered to pay costs amounting to around $23,700.

She told The Straits Times on Friday that her request to leave the country was turned down early last month.