Lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean has been ordered to start serving his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate on 20 July.
He was told to do so by Singapore’s highest court after it refused his application for a hearing, according to a judgment released on Monday (6 July).
Lim, chief of the opposition party People’s Voice, was previously told to surrender to the State Courts on 24 April to serve his sentence.
But he had applied for permission to refer “four questions of law of public interest” to the Court of Appeal, which is Singapore’s highest court.
These pertained to his conviction on three charges under the Legal Profession Act, for practising law without a valid certificate.
But on 6 July, Lim’s application was refused by a panel of three judges comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Woo Bih Li and Justice See Kee Oon.
They said the four questions he raised were not questions of law of public interest — one of the conditions that must be satisfied before permission is granted to file a reference to the Court of Appeal.
Additionally, for three of the questions, determining them would not have affected the outcome of the case, another condition that had to be met.
Thus, Lim is now required to surrender himself to the State Courts at 12 noon on 20 July.
This is when he will begin serving his sentence, which was temporarily stayed due to his application.
His bail, which had also been extended pending the outcome of his application, is extended till 20 July.
For a period of more than two months, Lim had practised as a lawyer while not having a valid practising certificate.
From 1 April 2021 to 9 June 2021, he attended court hearings and handled legal matters for his clients despite not being authorised to do so. He only received his practising certificate on 10 June 2021.
Lawyers in Singapore are required to apply for their practising certificate by 31 March every year for the following year starting on 1 April. Lim applied for his only on 9 June 2021.
Source: Lim Tean on Facebook
In February 2025, Lim was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and fined S$1,000 for practising law without a valid certificate.
But he appealed the decision to the High Court, which instead increased his sentence to three months and one week.
This came after the prosecution also appealed for a stiffer sentence of between five and eight months in prison.
Separately, Lim was fined S$30,000 by the Court of Three Judges, a disciplinary tribunal that hears cases on the professional misconduct of Singapore-qualified lawyers.
The case was regarding a S$30,000 cheque meant for his client that he had banked into his law firm’s account instead of a separate account for clients’ monies as required.
He has also been charged with unlawful stalking in a case relating to the alleged harassment of a former employee of his law firm in 2020.
Also read: Lim Tean says he will sue CNA & Mothership for reporting that he’s bankrupt
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News.