Steve Chia faces a maximum fine of S$3000 (US$1786) and a one year jail sentence if convicted, meaning he would be ineligible to contest the next general election due by June 2007.

Under local electoral rules, anyone who has been fined $2000, jailed one year or both, is barred from contesting the national polls for five years.

The 34-year-old saw his promising political career damaged after he took topless photos of his Indonesian maid. He was also given a warning last year for possessing an obscene film.

Chia is a non-constituency opposition member of Parliament. There are two other constituency-based opposition members in the chamber of 84 elected representatives.

The People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since it became independent from Malaysia in August 1965, holds all the other elected seats.

Singapore's opposition plays a marginal role in politics. Its leaders are hounded by lawsuits and their activities curbed by strict laws against protest rallies and lack of access to the mainstream media.
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