SINGAPORE: A warrant of arrest review will be held for Lim Tean, who was to surrender on July 20 to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate.
According to the court’s Integrated Case Management System, the review will be held on Aug 17. These reviews are held to get updates on the status of an active warrant.
The Straits Times has contacted the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Singapore Judiciary to confirm that there is an active warrant of arrest for Lim.
Lim was convicted in July 2024 of three charges under the Legal Profession Act and was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of S$1,000 by a district judge in February 2025.
Lim, who is the secretary-general of the People’s Alliance for Reform, 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 enhanced Lim’s sentence to imprisonment of three months and a week.
Lim was back in court in April 2026, where he was 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 Lim to be struck off the rolls, while Lim argued before the Court of Three Judges that “a very small fine” should be imposed.
The court cited several factors in imposing a “heavier fine”, including his cavalier attitude towards lawyers’ obligations in handling clients’ money and his status as a senior practitioner with more than 25 years of experience at the time. - The Straits Times/ANN
