Two men to be charged over alleged arrangements for Lim Tean to leave Singapore illegally

Lim Tean was arrested by Malaysian police in Johor Bahru on Thursday after failing to surrender in Singapore to serve jail time.

SINGAPORE: Two men will be charged in court on Saturday (Aug 8) for allegedly conspiring to make arrangements for lawyer Lim Tean to illegally depart Singapore for Malaysia.

The two Singaporeans, aged 37 and 44, will be charged with one count each of engaging in a conspiracy to commit an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice, knowing that the act is likely to defeat the course of justice, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release.

The offence is punishable by up to seven years in prison, a fine, or both.

"The authorities take a firm stance against those who assist others to evade justice. Such offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law," SPF said.

Lim was supposed to have surrendered at the State Courts of Singapore on Monday to serve a jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate.

However, the 61-year-old did not show up, and his lawyer and bailor could not contact him.

Authorities in Singapore subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Lim, and he was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) in Johor Bahru on Thursday.

SPF is working closely with RMP to secure his return to Singapore.

A spokesperson from the Singapore courts earlier told CNA that Lim had originally been directed to surrender at 12pm on Jul 20 to begin his jail term.

However, on Jul 17, the Court of Appeal approved a request from Lim to defer his sentence and ordered him to surrender at 12pm on Aug 3 instead.

Lim was convicted in July 2024 by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun after a trial.

His original sentence was six weeks' jail and a S$1,000 (US$780) fine, but that was increased to three months and one week after a judge agreed with the prosecution that it was "manifestly inadequate".

Lim was declared bankrupt in April. In the same month, he was also fined S$30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client's money.

Lim is the founder of Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People's Alliance for Reform, an alliance of opposition parties.

At last year's General Election, Lim came third in a three-cornered contest in Potong Pasir SMC, behind the People's Action Party's Alex Yeo and the Singapore People's Party's Williamson Lee.