{
  "id": 13020552,
  "title": "Lawyer Lim Tean handed 3 more charges including committing act that could defeat course of justice",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/lawyer-lim-tean-handed-3-more-charges-including-committing-act-that",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T03:32:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times",
    "slug": "straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/lawyer-lim-tean-handed-3-more-charges-including-committing-act-that-could-defeat-course-of-justice"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lawyer Lim Tean, 61, was further charged on October 9 for allegedly circumventing legal proceedings. According to the charges, he failed to provide a valid passport when leaving Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on August 4. He is also accused of an act that could defeat the course of justice for leaving Singapore for Malaysia unlawfully on the same day, with the intention of evading his jail sentence. Additionally, Lim is accused of not complying with the duty to surrender to custody at the State Courts to initiate his jail term, which the Court of Appeal had ordered him to commence on August 3. In August 2024, Lim was convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act and sentenced to six weeks' jail and a fine of $1,000 by a district judge in February 2025. He had attended court hearings 32 times between April and June 2021 while not having a valid practising certificate in force, ultimately appealing his conviction and sentence. Prosecutors also filed an appeal for a harsher sentence of between five and eight months' jail. In February 2026, the High Court increased Lim's sentence to three months and seven days. Two Singaporeans were also charged for allegedly assisting Lim in leaving the country, with their cases pending. Lim was fined $30,000 in April 2026 for mishandling a $30,000 cheque meant for a client, with the Law Society of Singapore calling for his removal from the rolls. He still faces multiple pending charges, including harassment and criminal breach of trust as an attorney. Lim is currently serving his sentence and his pre-trial conference is scheduled for October 23.",
  "summary": "He had failed to surrender at the Singapore State Courts on Aug 3 to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}