Lim Tean’s bailor to forfeit entire $45,000 bail following lawyer’s abscondment

Published Sep 17, 2026, 06:44 PM

Updated Sep 17, 2026, 06:44 PM

SINGAPORE – Leong Sze Hian, who had posted bail for lawyer Lim Tean, will forfeit the entire bail amount of $45,000, a district court ordered on Sept 17.

Lim, 61, had failed to surrender at the State Courts on Aug 3 to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate, and an arrest warrant was issued against him on the same day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong said Leong, 72, fell far short of the standards expected from a bailor, whose responsibilities included monitoring Lim’s movements, reminding Lim of his obligations, and taking proactive steps to secure Lim’s attendance in court.

Lim was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police on Aug 6 and deported to Singapore on Aug 11.

The prosecutor said that text messages showed Leong failed to keep in contact with Lim daily between July 1 and Aug 3.

Leong and Lim’s last contact was on Aug 2, a day before he was due to surrender at the State Courts.

Neither did Leong remind Lim of his obligation to surrender or even ascertain Lim’s whereabouts in the days leading up to Aug 3, Wong said.

Leong also failed to contact Lim on Aug 3 and had only done so after being contacted by the case investigation officer.

The prosecutor said that while the pair had some discussions regarding an intended statement to be published by Lim on Aug 3, their discussions did not demonstrate that Leong had taken the necessary steps to ensure Lim would surrender as required .

Lim was 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.

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 jail sentence to three months and a week.

Separately, the Law Society of Singapore had on Jan 23 called for Lim to be struck off the rolls in a disciplinary case over his handling of a $30,000 cheque that was meant for his client. Lim argued for a “very small fine” to be imposed on him instead by the Court of Three Judges. He was eventually handed a $30,000 fine on April 10.

发布于 2026 年 9 月 17 日下午 6:44

更新于2026年9月17日下午6:44

新加坡——地方法院于9月17日下令，为律师林添缴纳保释金的梁思贤将没收全部45000新元的保释金。

现年 61 岁的林某因无有效执业证书从事法律工作，于 8 月 3 日未按时到州法院报到服刑，当天法院对他发出了逮捕令。

副检察官布莱恩·黄表示，72岁的梁先生远远没有达到保释人应有的标准，保释人的职责包括监督林先生的行踪、提醒林先生履行义务以及采取积极措施确保林先生出庭。

林某于8月6日被马来西亚皇家警察逮捕，并于8月11日被遣返回新加坡。

检察官表示，短信显示梁某在7月1日至8月3日期间未能与林某保持每日联系。

梁和林最后一次联系是在 8 月 2 日，也就是梁向国家法院自首的前一天。

黄先生说，在 8 月 3 日之前的几天里，梁先生既没有提醒林先生他有义务投降，也没有查明林先生的下落。

梁某在 8 月 3 日也没有联系林某，直到案件调查人员联系他之后才联系了林某。

检察官表示，虽然两人曾就林某计划于 8 月 3 日发表的声明进行过一些讨论，但他们的讨论并未表明梁某已采取必要措施确保林某按要求投案自首。

2024 年 7 月，林某因违反《法律职业法》三项罪名被定罪，2025 年 2 月，地方法官判处其六周监禁和 1000 美元罚款。

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，将林某的监禁刑期增加到三个月零一周。

此外，新加坡律师协会于1月23日要求将林某从律师名册中除名，原因是他在处理一张本应支付给其客户的3万新元支票时存在不当行为。林某辩称，三名法官组成的法庭应仅对其处以“数额很小的罚款”。最终，他于4月10日被判处3万新元罚款。