Lawyer Lim Tean returns to court to face fresh charges over alleged abscondment

SINGAPORE: Lawyer and opposition politician Lim was handed three new charges on Friday (Oct 9) in his first criminal court appearance since his alleged abscondment to Malaysia.  

Lim, 61, appeared via videolink to receive the charges.

According to a Singapore Police Force (SPF) news release issued on Friday, Lim was charged under the Criminal Procedure Code with knowingly and without reasonable excuse failing to surrender to custody at the State Courts on Aug 3 to start his jail term.

He was also charged under the Immigration Act with leaving Singapore by land via Tuas Checkpoint on Aug 4 without presenting a valid passport or other evidence of his identity and Singapore citizenship to an immigration officer or automated clearance system.

The third charge alleges that Lim did an act that had a tendency to defeat the course of justice by leaving Singapore for Malaysia unlawfully on Aug 4 to avoid serving his jail term.

Lim, dressed in a white shirt and wearing spectacles, was represented by lawyer Revi Shanker. Lim did not indicate how he intended to plead.

The prosecution noted there were outstanding investigations involving Lim and applied for him not to be granted bail after he completes his current sentence. The court granted the application.

Mr Shanker said he had no update for the court and would speak to Lim.

Lim's case will return to court for a pre-trial conference on Oct 23.

Lim's passport had been surrendered to the police as a condition of bail, SPF said. "At the time of his departure, he was not in possession of his passport and did not have the Court’s permission to leave Singapore," police added.

CONVICTION AND ARREST

Lim was convicted in July 2024 of practising as a lawyer without a valid practising certificate. He had attended court hearings on behalf of clients and prepared documents related to proceedings during the period when he did not have a valid practising certificate.

A district court sentenced him in February 2025 to six weeks' jail and a S$1,000 (US$780) fine.

In February 2026, the High Court dismissed Lim's appeal against his conviction and sentence and allowed the prosecution's cross-appeal, increasing his jail term to three months and one week.

Lim, the founder of Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People's Alliance for Reform, was due to surrender at the State Courts on Aug 3 to begin serving his jail term, but failed to do so and left Singapore while on court bail.

A warrant of arrest was issued against him that day.

Lim was arrested in Johor Bahru by the Royal Malaysia Police on Aug 6 and handed over to the Singapore Police Force on Aug 11.

As a result of the alleged abscondment, Lim's bailor, socio-political blogger Leong Sze Hian, was ordered to forfeit S$45,000 he had furnished as bail.

Lim has since begun serving his jail term.

Lim was declared bankrupt in April. He was also fined S$30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client’s money in a disciplinary matter.

Apart from the three new charges, Lim faces four outstanding charges: two counts of criminal breach of trust as an attorney, one of unlawful stalking and one of refusing to answer a public servant authorised to question him. This brings the total number of charges he currently faces to seven.

For doing an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice, an offender may be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.

For the Immigration Act offence, an offender may be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.

For failing to surrender to custody, an offender may be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.

Under the Constitution, anyone convicted of an offence and sentenced to at least one year's jail or a fine of at least S$10,000 is disqualified from running for election to become an MP.

TWO MEN CHARGED OVER LIM'S DEPARTURE

Two men were previously charged over alleged arrangements to help Lim leave Singapore illegally.

Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus, 38, and Mohammad Adam Abd Karim, 45, each face one count of conspiring 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.

Both cases were also heard on Friday. Sulaiman's lawyer indicated that his client would plead guilty, and the case was fixed for Dec 11. Mohammad Adam's case was fixed for a pre-trial conference on Oct 23.