Lawyer Lim Tean handed 3 more charges including committing act that could defeat course of justice律师林添被加控三项罪名，其中包括妨碍司法公正的行为。
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. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Lim Tean still has multiple pending charges for offences including harassment and criminal breach of trust as an attorney.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Published Oct 09, 2026, 11:32 AM
Updated Oct 09, 2026, 11:35 AM
Lim Tean had failed to surrender at the Singapore State Courts on Aug 3 to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate.
The arrest warrant was issued against him on the same day, and he was arrested three days later in Johor Bahru by the Royal Malaysia Police.
He was earlier convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act in July 2024.
SINGAPORE - Lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean, 61, was handed three extra charges on Oct 9. He allegedly failed to present a valid passport to an immigration officer when leaving Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on Aug 4.
He is also accused of doing an act that could defeat the course of justice by allegedly leaving Singapore for Malaysia unlawfully that day.
Lim purportedly did so to avoid serving his jail sentence which the Court of Appeal had ordered him to commence serving on Aug 3.
For his third charge, he allegedly failed to comply with the duty imposed on him to surrender to custody at the State Courts that day to start serving the sentence.
On Aug 3, Lim was expected to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate . The arrest warrant was issued against him that day. The founder of opposition party Peoples Voice was arrested three days later in Johor Bahru by the Royal Malaysia Police, then deported to Singapore on Aug 11. The Singapore Police Force said the Commercial Affairs Department arrested Lim upon his return from Malaysia that day. He had been convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act in July 2024, and sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of $1,000 by a district judge in February 2025.
Lim had attended court hearings and submitted documents on 32 occasions between April and June 2021 while not having a valid practising certificate in force.
He later filed an appeal in the High Court against his conviction and sentence. Prosecutors also filed an appeal for a stiffer sentence of between five and eight months’ jail.
In February 2026, the High Court judge allowed the prosecution’s appeal and increased Lim’s sentence to imprisonment of three months and a week.
Lawyers in Singapore must apply for their practising certificate every practice year, which runs from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.
Lim failed to apply for a practising certificate by March 31, 2021, because he had trouble obtaining his professional indemnity insurance, a prerequisite for applying for the certificate.
On Aug 8, two Singaporeans who allegedly helped him leave Singapore were charged.
Mohammad Adam Abd Karim, 45, and Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus, 38, were each handed one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice.
According to charge sheets, the two men had allegedly made arrangements for Lim to leave Singapore on Aug 4. Their cases are pending.
In April 2026, Lim was also fined $30,000 in a disciplinary case over his handling of a $30,000 cheque that was meant for his client.
The Law Society of Singapore had called for him to be struck off the rolls , while he argued before the Court of Three Judges that a very small fine should be imposed instead.
Lim still has multiple pending charges for offences including harassment and criminal breach of trust as an attorney .
He is currently serving his sentence for practising law without a valid certificate, and his pre-trial conference will be held on Oct 23.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
林添仍面临多项指控，包括骚扰和作为律师的刑事失信。
照片：新加坡警察部队
发布于 2026 年 10 月 9 日上午 11:32
更新于2026年10月9日上午11:35
林添因无有效执业证书从事法律工作，于8月3日未按时到新加坡国家法院报到服刑。
当天就对他发出了逮捕令，三天后，马来西亚皇家警察在柔佛州新山逮捕了他。
他此前于 2024 年 7 月因违反《法律职业法》三项罪名被定罪。
新加坡——61岁的律师兼反对派政治家林添于10月9日被加控三项罪名。据称，他于8月4日经大士关卡离开新加坡时，未能向移民官员出示有效护照。
他还被指控当天非法离开新加坡前往马来西亚，此举可能妨碍司法公正。
据称，林某这样做是为了逃避服刑，上诉法院已下令他从 8 月 3 日开始服刑。
对于他的第三项指控，据称他没有履行当天到州法院投案服刑的义务。
8月3日，林冠英因无有效执业证书执业而被判入狱服刑。当天，警方对他发出逮捕令。三天后，反对党人民之声的创始人林冠英在柔佛州新山被马来西亚皇家警察逮捕，并于8月11日被遣返回新加坡。新加坡警方表示，林冠英当天从马来西亚返回新加坡后，被商业事务局逮捕。他于2024年7月被判犯有三项违反《法律职业法》的罪行，并于2025年2月被地方法官判处六周监禁和1000新元罚款。
2021 年 4 月至 6 月期间，林某在没有有效执业证书的情况下，曾 32 次出庭并提交文件。
他随后向高等法院提起上诉，反对其定罪和量刑。检方也提起上诉，要求判处五至八个月的监禁。
2026 年 2 月，高等法院法官准许检方上诉，将林某的刑期增加至三个月零一周的监禁。
新加坡律师必须每年申请执业证书，执业年度从每年的 4 月 1 日开始，到次年的 3 月 31 日结束。
林某未能于 2021 年 3 月 31 日前申请执业证书，因为他难以获得职业责任保险，而这是申请该证书的先决条件。
8月8日，两名涉嫌帮助他离开新加坡的新加坡人被起诉。
45 岁的 Mohammad Adam Abd Karim 和 38 岁的 Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus 分别被控一项罪名，即参与共谋实施妨碍司法公正的行为。
根据控状，这两名男子涉嫌安排林某于8月4日离开新加坡。他们的案件仍在审理中。
2026 年 4 月，林某因处理一张本应支付给其客户的 3 万美元支票，在纪律处分案件中被罚款 3 万美元。
新加坡律师协会要求将他从律师名册中除名，而他则在三名法官组成的法庭上辩称，应该处以非常少的罚款。
林某仍面临多项指控，包括骚扰和作为律师的刑事失信。
他目前因无有效执业证书从事法律工作而正在服刑，他的审前会议将于 10 月 23 日举行。
沙菲克·阿尔哈提卜是《海峡时报》的法庭记者，主要报道国家法院审理的刑事案件。