6 Trainee Lawyers Take Back Applications To Practise Law After Cheating In Bar Exams
Earlier this year, 11 trainee lawyers were revealed to have cheated in their Bar exams in 2020.
As a result, a judge delayed their applications to the Bar, which makes one eligible to practise law in Singapore.
6 Law Grads Found Cheating In S’pore Bar Exam, Judge Delays Their Admission
The case stirred up significant controversy, with various authorities, including Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, criticising their actions.
On Monday (15 Aug), six of the trainees withdrew their applications to practise law in Singapore.
A High Court judge granted them permission to do so.
However, he also advised them to continue working in the legal profession so that a suitable mentor may determine if they are fit to reapply to the Bar in the future.
Trainee lawyers withdraw applications after cheating on Bar exams
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that the trainee lawyers were given permission by a High Court judge to withdraw their Bar applications on Monday (15 Aug).
The six of them were among 11 who cheated in their Bar examinations in 2020. Their names, which were initially redacted, are:
- Lynn Kuek Yi Ting
- Matthew Chow Jun Feng
- Lionel Wong Choong Yoong
- Monisha Devaraj
- Kushal Atul Shah
- Sreeraam Ravenderan
High Court Justice Choo Han Teck gave his permission after representatives of the Attorney-General, Law Society, and Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) did not raise any objections to the withdrawals.
He suggested that the trainees continue to stay in the legal profession, albeit as paralegals or other similar roles.
This will allow a reputable mentor to “testify to their suitability to reapply” for admission to the Bar, should they choose to do so.
Justice Choo also did not set a time by which the trainees would have to reapply. The approval of any reapplication will differ on a case-to-case basis, depending on their conduct and the testimony of their mentors.
Trainees will not reapply “without deep consideration and reflection”
According to TODAY, the lawyer for Mr Wong, Ms Devaraj, and Mr Kushal reassured the court that the three of them “will not come back without very deep considerations as to whether they have met the requirements” set out by the Justice Choo and any other judges in related matters.
They will also give “deep thought as to what they’ve done” and will not submit any reapplications “without deep consideration and reflection”.
CNA adds that the lawyers representing the other three trainees echoed these statements.
Back in April, the court found that the six graduates were guilty of cheating during Part B of their Bar examinations in 2020.
Five of them had shared the answers via WhatsApp. The sixth conspired with another candidate to cheat on three other papers.
In a review, the Attorney-General called them unfit and lacking the amount of integrity required to practise law in Singapore.
After retaking the papers, all six candidates passed the Bar examination. However, Justice Choo deferred their applications for Bar admission by six months to a year.
Hope the trainees have learned their lesson
Cheating is never right, especially when it’s on something as important as a Bar examination.
Hopefully, the trainees will have learned their lesson and won’t resort to such dishonest methods in their careers.
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