Source : Straits Times – 22 Aug 2009
Convicted lawyer says he is contesting a point of law of public interest
THE Court of Appeal will next week hear a case which may have significant impact in the way lawyers interact with their clients in future.
The case involves lawyer Bachoo Mohan Singh, 61, who was convicted two years ago of helping to file a false claim – an offence which carried a mandatory jail term.
In January this year, he appealed unsuccessfully to the High Court to overturn the decision by the Subordinate Courts.
This would have been the end of the road, as far as legal recourse goes, for Singh.
But in this instance, he applied through the Registrar to have his case heard by the Court of Appeal – Singapore’s highest court, which usually only hears such cases when questions of law of public interest are involved.
He said he was contesting a point of law which had significant public interest.
In a rare move, the court agreed to hear the case. The hearing will allow the three-judge court to consider issues of concern to the legal community here, such as the extent to which lawyers are responsible for verifying claims made by their clients which later turn out to be false.
Currently, lawyers take most statements given to them by clients on faith, and assume them to be true. But if the Court of Appeal agrees with Singh, this may change.
Its views on the case could put both lawyers and their clients on notice that further verification of such claims may be needed to ensure they are accurate.
In dismissing the appeal in January, Justice Tay Yong Kwang noted that Singh’s lawyer had tried to portray the offence his client committed as ‘a legal trap which may cause many an unwary lawyer to falter and fall afoul of the law by the simple act of lodging a claim’ – even if that lawyer reasonably believes such a claim to be true.
But Justice Tay made clear then that ’such a fear is totally unfounded’.
Lawyers said the move to hear the case on appeal would help clarify this issue.
As an indication of how important this case is, the Court of Appeal has asked Senior Counsel Wong Meng Meng, in his capacity as a ‘ friend of the court’, or amicus curiae, to offer the Law Society’s views on how the case has raised issues of public interest.
Mr Wong, founder and consultant of WongPartnership, is vice-president of the Law Society here.
Another indication of the interest of the case to legal circles here is the fact that Senior Counsel Michael Hwang has volunteered to argue Singh’s case for free. Mr Hwang is the Law Society’s president.
Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, senior lawyer Peter Fernando said Singh’s case ‘is no doubt rare as any further appeal’ after a Magistrate’s hearing must involve a question of law or public interest.
‘It is then for the Court of Appeal to… decide on the merits of the case,’ he said._____
About the case
October 2005: Bachoo Mohan Singh is charged with helping a flat owner make a false claim to the court over the price of the flat in a property transaction.
March 2006 to September 2007: Subsequent trial, conviction and sentence before District Judge Bala Reddy. Singh is sentenced to three months’ jail.
January 2009: He appeals to the High Court. His conviction is upheld, but the three-month sentence is cut to a month’s jail and a $10,000 fine.
April 2009: Singh applies to refer issues of law in his case to the Court of Appeal, but Justice Tay Yong Kwang rejects this. On the same day, he applies directly to the Court of Appeal.
May 2009: He writes to Justice Tay to re-open the case and is refused.
He is currently out on $125,000 bail pending the Court of Appeal hearing next week.
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