Lim Tean claimed that he had been acting on his client’s instructions and questioned why the Law Society did not produce the client as a witness.
SINGAPORE: The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) on Friday (Jan 23) urged the Court of Three Judges to strike lawyer Lim Tean off the rolls forĀ his conduct in handling S$30,000 (US$22,000) belonging to a former client.
Lim, 61, argued that he should be given only a fine if he is to be sanctioned, questioning why LawSoc did not get the client to testify and claiming that he had acted on the client’s instructions.
Lim was found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal of two charges of grossly improper conduct by deliberately retaining a cheque for S$30,000 from a client who had discharged him.
The opposition politician also failed to pay the cheque into his law firm’s client account.
The case was uncovered after the client, Mr Suresh Kumar A Jesupal, made a complaint.
He had appointed Lim, a lawyer of 30 years from Carson Law Chambers at the time, to act for him in a motor vehicle accident claim in October 2018.
A judgment was issued in the case about a year later, awarding S$50,000 to Mr Suresh.
A sum of S$30,000 was paid by Willy Tay Chambers, the solicitors for AXA Insurance, to Lim and his firm, as interim payment of the settlement sum to Mr Suresh as ordered in the judgment.
However, Mr Suresh Kumar decided to discharge Lim as his lawyer, appointing Joseph Chen & Co to act for him instead on Nov 13, 2019.
Despite a letter sent to Carson Law Chambers by Joseph Chen & Co stating that Lim must withdraw from representing Mr Suresh, Lim kept the sum of S$30,000 and deposited it into his firm’s bank account instead of the client account which is meant to hold monies for clients.
LawSoc had initially brought a third charge alleging that Mr Lim had misappropriated the sum of S$30,000 by failing or neglecting to pay it to Mr Suresh Kumar.
However, LawSoc withdrew the charge after Mr Suresh Kumar declined to give evidence for the prosecution which the prosecution found necessary.
On Friday, counsel for LawSoc Mr Chenthil Kumarasingam sought a striking off for Lim, or a suspension in the alternative.
WHY WASN’T MR SURESH CALLED?
The Court of Three Judges posed several questions to Mr Chenthil on his case, especially on why LawSoc had not called Mr Suresh as a witness.
Mr Chenthil explained that the original evidential hearing was adjourned once because Mr Suresh was undergoing surgery.
Just prior to the refixed hearing, he indicated that he was unwilling to participate further in the proceedings, but did not say why.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon asked why Mr Suresh was not subpoenaed.
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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lim-tean-lawsoc-seek-striking-30000-client-5878251
