OBFUSCATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

Members of ASPA(Vic) are in receipt of this circular:

Dear Members,

As some of you may be aware, Mohammed Hegazi, a current ASPA (Vic) Inc. member, recently filed a Complaint and Statement of Claim in the Victorian Magistrates' Court against Marjorie Miller, the current Secretary of ASPA (Vic) Inc.  Mr Hegazi's claim arises from the Committee decision in 2008 to suspend his participation in Victorian rated tournaments for 12 months as a result of various complaints which had been lodged with the Committee. Mr Hegazi complied with the suspension from October 2008 to September 2009, and has resumed playing in Victorian rated tournaments.

In suing Mrs Miller, Mr Hegazi brought his action against the wrong party, as the decision to suspend him was made by ASPA (Vic) Inc., not Mrs Miller in her personal capacity.  On 28 July, Mr Hegazi was given leave by the Magistrates' Court to substitute ASPA (Vic) Inc. as the defendant, and discontinue the proceeding against Mrs Miller.

The matter will now continue in the Magistrates' Court.  A mediation has been listed for 10 September 2014, before a Registrar of the Court.

The Committee is hopeful of resolving the dispute at mediation, and has attempted to resolve it with Mr. Hegazi on numerous occasions in the past three years.

If the matter does not settle at the mediation, it will likely proceed to a hearing, expected to be later in 2014.

As the dispute is a matter before the courts, the Committee would appreciate all members' restraint from discussing the matter with the Committee or Mr. Hegazi.

Yours faithfully,

CAROL JOHNSEN

President, ASPA (Vic) Inc.

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The legal action is against an improper and illegal unfounded finding that I had been "guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of ASPA (Vic) Inc. and prejudicial to the interests of the Association." This baseless illegal nonsense is what is being challenged in the courts.

As to the ban from playing in Victorian tournaments, I was so disgusted, to the extent that I had a self-imposed much longer ban from 2008 to 2011.

Mediation has always been frustrated because the Committee, against my requests, has consistently chosen to be represented by members who were personally involved in the dispute and had vested interest in frustrating mediation efforts, namely Carol Johnsen, Marjorie Miller and Trevor Halsall. By the way, on 10/09/2014 there will be a “pre-hearing” to which ASPA(Vic) has been summoned by Ringwood Magistrates’ Court. It is not a mediation session as claimed above. Mediation was finished and done with in 2012 at the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria, Department of Justice. If ASPA (Vic) make the same mistake and is represented by any delegate with vested interest in continuing to cover up (namely CJ, MM, and TH), the matter would progress to a hearing. It would certainly mean extra legal cost to the losing party. Courts are concerned with applying the letter of the law in a fair manner. They cannot be conned or swayed.

My return to play in Victoria began at the 2011 AGM tournament. It was for the sole purpose of observing the outcome of a motion moved by Tess Robinson and seconded by Geoff Wright. Obfuscation and lies, together with a secret ballot, decided the outcome of that motion. Most members of the Association did not have all the relevant information. From memory, the result of the motion was: 8 for, 35 against and 16 abstained. I did not cast a vote myself nor did Geoff or Tess, who were absent. Members of a committee of 10 casted votes. No proxies were available. No one knows what the outcome could have been, if the committee were honest enough to divulge all the relevant information. Maybe an apology for such an outrageous lie could have settled the matter once and for all.

Upon persisting sincere requests from several concerned Vic members, I am gradually returning to play in Victorian tournaments.
 

ASPA(Vic) members can ask me any questions by email (mohammedhegazi@gmail.com) or discuss the matter with me in person, should they want any further clarification. I have nothing whatsoever to hide. There is no legal obligation to prevent members from seeking information from me or anyone else. A member of the 2008 Committee has been quoted, "All they wanted was to get rid of him."

I am grateful to all members of ASPA(SA) for their continued warm welcome to all their regular tournaments, Matchplays and Pub tournaments. Nothing would prevent me from mingling with this superb SA membership, other than the hefty cost of travel.


Mohammed Hegazi
Member of ASPA (Vic) Inc.
Regular Visitor of ASPA (SA) Inc.