Police investigating matters raised in Law Society’s audit report about workplace complaints

SINGAPORE — Police are investigating certain matters raised in a report by the Law Society of Singapore’s (LawSoc) audit committee, the society informed its members in an e-mail update on Sept 21.

The e-mail, which The Straits Times has seen, added that the police also told LawSoc not to further publish or distribute the contents of the report or comment on these matters, pending the conclusion of police investigations.

The audit committee’s report detailed its findings on matters that allegedly occurred in the society between 2022 and 2025, including inappropriate workplace conduct, weaknesses in governance and oversight, deficiencies in grievance handling and whistleblowing processes, and shortcomings in internal controls over certain administrative and financial practices.

This latest update comes a month after the society told members on Aug 20 that it would release the full report after a redaction process to honour the promise of confidentiality to the interviewees.

The police confirmed that a report was lodged and they are looking into the matter.

LawSoc said it has no comment at this time.

Lawyers who spoke to ST believe the police investigations may cover allegations of inappropriate conduct by a former senior employee.

The audit committee’s investigation arose from an anonymous e-mail sent to the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the Ministry of Manpower on Sept 13, 2025.

MinLaw sent the e-mail to the LawSoc council, which appointed the society’s audit committee to carry out an independent investigation and make appropriate recommendations.

The committee sent its report to the council on June 5, and the council sent a copy of the report to MinLaw on July 1.

On July 23, without releasing the report, the council said in an e-mail to members that it resolved to implement governance reforms and gave a brief summary of some of the findings.

On Aug 5, in a written parliamentary reply, Law Minister Edwin Tong said that while the audit did not find evidence of deliberate financial impropriety or an intentional cover-up, it nevertheless identified significant failings in leadership, workplace culture and governance during the relevant period.

On Aug 13, at a tense closed-door dialogue attended by about 200 members, lawyers called for the full disclosure of the report as well as relevant investigation material.

One of the issues raised at the meeting concerned the handling of allegations that a former senior employee had acted inappropriately towards female colleagues, with lawyers questioning why the allegations were not referred to the police.

The next day, the Law Minister said in a statement that the LawSoc should make available to members the relevant reports with appropriate redactions to protect the interviewees.

On Aug 20, the LawSoc said in an e-mail update to its members that it will release the report after the redaction process is completed.

On Sept 22, when asked about the latest update that criminal investigations are ongoing, lawyer Clarence Lun told The Straits Times: “The Law Society should long have asked that the police carry out the investigation, and not wait until now.”

This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.

新加坡——新加坡律师协会（LawSoc）于9月21日通过电子邮件向其会员通报，警方正在调查该协会审计委员会报告中提出的一些问题。

《海峡时报》看到的这封电子邮件还补充说，警方也告知律师协会，在警方调查结束之前，不要进一步发布或传播该报告的内容，也不要对此事发表评论。

审计委员会的报告详细列出了其对 2022 年至 2025 年间该协会发生的事件的调查结果，包括不当的工作场所行为、治理和监督方面的缺陷、申诉处理和举报程序方面的不足，以及对某些行政和财务做法的内部控制方面的缺陷。

此次最新进展是在该协会于 8 月 20 日告知会员将在经过删减程序后发布完整报告，以履行对受访者保密的承诺一个月后发布的。

警方证实已接到报案，目前正在调查此事。

律师协会表示目前不予置评。

与《海峡时报》交谈过的律师认为，警方调查可能涵盖对一名前高级雇员的不当行为指控。

审计委员会的调查源于 2025 年 9 月 13 日发送给律政部和人力部的一封匿名电子邮件。

律政部向律师协会理事会发送了电子邮件，理事会随后任命律师协会的审计委员会进行独立调查并提出适当的建议。

委员会于 6 月 5 日将报告提交给市议会，市议会于 7 月 1 日将报告副本提交给律政部。

7月23日，在没有公布报告的情况下，该委员会在一封发给成员的电子邮件中表示，它决定实施治理改革，并简要概述了一些调查结果。

8月5日，律政部长唐振辉在书面答复国会时表示，虽然审计没有发现蓄意财务不当行为或故意掩盖的证据，但审计仍然发现相关时期在领导层、工作场所文化和治理方面存在重大缺陷。

8 月 13 日，在约 200 名成员参加的气氛紧张的闭门对话中，律师们呼吁全面公开该报告以及相关的调查材料。

会议上提出的问题之一是，有关前高级雇员对女同事行为不当的指控的处理方式，律师们质疑为什么这些指控没有移交给警方。

第二天，律政部长发表声明称，律师协会应向会员提供相关报告，并进行适当的删减以保护受访者。

8 月 20 日，律师协会在一封发给会员的电子邮件更新中表示，将在完成编辑过程后发布该报告。

9月22日，当被问及刑事调查仍在进行的最新进展时，律师克拉伦斯·伦告诉《海峡时报》：“律师协会早就应该要求警方进行调查，而不是等到现在。”

本文最初发表于《海峡时报》。转载需获得许可。