Update (28 Oct, 9.20am): The woman who made the allegations shared that she “lost all confidence” and didn’t speak up earlier after her then-boss brushed aside her claims in 2016. More below.
Update (25 Oct, 5.47pm): A Law Society spokesperson said it received a complaint dated 20 June 2023 in relation to the alleged conduct of their former council member. “The Council of the Law Society carefully considered the complaint”, it said adding that it was unable to take any further action as it fell outside the purview of the Legal Profession Act and beyond the scope and powers of the Law Society.
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On Monday (21 Oct), a woman posted a 16-page document on LinkedIn accusing a distinguished lawyer of sexual misconduct 10 years ago.
The lawyer had been a council member of The Law Society of Singapore, and the victim’s move came a day before he was up for re-election on Tuesday (22 Oct).
“I firmly believe that [he] is not a suitable practitioner member to be elected to the Council”, the document reads.
“I believe that all members of the Law Society should be aware of the following information before considering whether to vote for [him] on 22 October 2024.”
Source: LinkedIn
The document details three acts of sexual misconduct in 2014.
All three alleged misconducts had happened overseas, during which they were classmates from the same university.
The most serious incident was an alleged sexual assault which happened during their graduation trip to Batam in May 2014.
According to the woman, the lawyer had assaulted her on the couch of the bungalow they were staying in.
He allegedly pushed his body onto hers and “forced his mouth onto [her] mouth”.
The victim claimed the lawyer continued the assault despite her shouting “No”. She added that she did not have the strength to overpower him.
Source: Canva. For illustration purposes only.
Two other cases of sexual misconduct had happened earlier in the same year when he and the victim were in Hong Kong for a competition.
Source: SMU
In both cases, the lawyer had allegedly forced hugs upon the victim.
The victim claimed she felt his “erect penis” against her stomach during one of the hugs.
Aside from the three cases, the victim also alleged that he had attempted to “flash” during an occasion between 2011 and 2012.
In a LinkedIn post on Thursday (24 Oct), the lawyer called the woman’s allegations “untrue”.
He claimed the events “either did not happen or did not happen in the manner alleged”.
He added that the relevant authorities have looked into the claims and have dismissed them.
Source: LinkedIn
In her report, the woman claimed she did not contact the police as they had no jurisdiction to investigate crimes that happened overseas.
She said she only approached the police because a formal police report was required for her official complaint to the Law Society.
The police then informed her that they would only be able to produce a “short police report” for cases of such a nature, said her report.
According to Law Society’s press release on Tuesday (22 Oct), the lawyer failed to get re-elected that day.
The woman told MS News that in 2016, she confided in her then-boss about the incidents after noticing an email nominating the lawyer for election to the Junior Category of the Law Society.
She said: “I told my then-boss about how Sui was not of good character and I was thinking of writing to Law Society”, adding:
My boss laughed off the assault as “just a kiss”. I lost all confidence and did not speak up.
The woman explained that it has taken her years to process her emotions and gather the courage to advocate for herself.
Addressing potential critics who might question why she joined a graduation trip with him after the initial incidents, she replied: “No need to respond. The fact is [the lawyer], a friend, took advantage of me.”
In response to MS News’ queries, a Law Society spokesperson said it had communicated to Ms Hilda Foo in the Law Society’s letter of 7 July 2023, that because the alleged conduct allegedly occurred before Mr Sui entered legal practice, the matter complained of fell outside the purview of the Legal Profession Act and beyond the scope and powers of the Law Society.
“As such, the Law Society was unable to take any further action in the matter,” said the spokesperson.
Asked if the society had further comments on what the lawyer had stated in his statement, and the spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on the statements made by [him] or others.”
MS News has reached out to both the lawyer and the law firm where the lawyer is practising for further information.
Also read: Woman publicly shames vice-principal husband for affair with student’s mother
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Featured image adapted from kanchanachitkhamma and doidam10 on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
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