askST: Can Pritam apply to practise law after disbarment?

Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, a non-practising lawyer, was struck off the rolls on August 13 this year due to a criminal conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee. The Court of Three Judges, the highest disciplinary body for the legal profession, has the power to suspend or strike off lawyers for professional misconduct.

Lawyers can be sanctioned for serious cases with disbarment, a suspension of up to five years, a fine of up to $100,000, or censure. In past cases, dishonesty has "almost invariably" led to a lawyer being struck off, unless there are exceptional facts showing disproportionate consequences.

Singh is the third lawyer disbarred in 2026, following Steven John Lam Kuet Keng and Charles Yeo. Lam was struck off for lying to police about a 2024 drink-driving crash, while Yeo was disbarred for mismanagement of clients' funds, mishandling migrant workers' settlement money, and misrepresentations to the court. Lawyers who have been disbarred cannot represent clients but can take on law-related roles that don't require them to be called to the Bar.

A disbarred lawyer can apply for reinstatement to the Court of Three Judges. The court will consider whether enough time has passed since disbarment, if the applicant has been fully rehabilitated, and if public interest and the legal profession's reputation are protected. There is no minimum time frame for seeking reinstatement, but it is customary for a significantly longer period than five years to have elapsed.

The Legal Profession Act does not specify this period, as five years is the maximum suspension period; striking off is generally more serious.

Choy Chee Yean, who was disbarred in 2010 for a Hong Kong burglary conviction, was reinstated nine years later, nine years after his disbarment, after demonstrating full rehabilitation and meeting several conditions set by the Law Society and the Attorney-General's Chambers. Glenn Knight, disbarred in 1994 for corruption, was reinstated in 2007, more than 12 years after his disbarment, following a thorough evaluation of testimonies from employers, colleagues, and senior lawyers.