• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Human rights activist M Ravi barred from practicing law for two more years

by Martha Soezean
28/10/2016
in People
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

Mr M Ravi

Lawyer M Ravi who had been ordered to stop practising in February 2015 is prohibited from applying for a practicing certificate for the next 2 years, the Court of Appeal has decided.

The Court said in its judgment released on 27 Oct, this was necessary to safeguard the interests of the public and to uphold public confidence in the integrity of the legal profession.

Mr Ravi’s case had been brought before the Court of Appeal after he had pleaded guilty to four charges of misconduct before a disciplinary tribunal last year.

The tribunal, in its report released in December 2015 had recommended Mr Ravi’s case to the Court of Three Judges, pointing out that it had no power to fine or censure Mr Ravi as he was being dealt with as a non-practising lawyer.

On 6 Sep 2016 Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Ravi’s lawyer, has sought an overall fine of S$10,000 (S$2,500 per offence) and has pleaded for the court to take his client’s mental illness into account.

Mr Sean La’Brooy, the solicitor for the Law Society, did not object to a fine, but asked a higher amount of at least S$5,000 for each offence, stating that his condition should not absolve him.

The three judges that had heard the case — CJ Menon and Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and Tay Yong Kwang — reserved judgment on 6 Sep.

CJ Menon described Mr Ravi’s conduct as ‘reprehensible’ and ‘disturbing’, then asked: “Are we not going to hold a solicitor to the standards expected of him? … The whole thing may have been avoided if Mr Ravi had taken the doctor’s advice … Should we say because he has a medical condition, we punish him differently?”

And Justice Phang asked if Mr Ravi’s condition was being used as a ‘justification’.

“There is a wider public interest that cannot be ignored,” he said.

The Court had other options besides forbidding Mr Ravi from practicing. Included in these options are to censure him, to order him to pay a penalty of not more than $20,000, or to strike his name off the roll of lawyers.

In delivering the verdict, CJ Menon said that the Court was presented with a situation where Mr Ravi has a mental condition which has in the past caused him to act in a manner unbecoming of a lawyer. He said that there is a possibility that this may happen again in the future.

The verdict read, “In this circumstances, we consider that anything short of prohibiting the respondent for a substantial period of time from applying for a practicing certificate would be inadequate.”

In response to the verdict, Mr Ravi commented on his Facebook,

“Dear friends,

The Court of Appeal handed out a judgement today prohibiting me from practising law for a period of two years. I have already been out of practice for more
than 18 months. My doctor had certified me fit to practice since December last year.The Law Society had in fact approved my application for Practising Certificate in August 2016. However, the Attorney General objected to application for a Practising Certificate. During the hearing before the Court of Appeal the Law Society had agreed that a fine is an appropriate penalty in line with the recommendation made by the Disciplinary Tribunal below.

I accept that I did not behave appropriately when I was unwell. However, the Court of Appeal’s Judgment is acutely disproportionate in view of the Disciplinary Tribunal’s recommendation of a fine. The effect of the Court of Appeal’s judgment means I am put of of Practice of Law for close to 4 years.

However,inasmuch I am devastated, this will not deter me from continuing my work in the field of international human rights and constitutional law and contribute to society where I can. To this extent, I will continue my work by assisting the firm of Eugene Thuraisingam LLP in my current role as a Head of Knowledge Management and Strategic Alliance Division.

Thank you for your support and encouragement all these while!”

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research
AFP

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

08/02/2023
AFP

Microsoft sees ‘new day’ in war with Google over AI search engines

08/02/2023
过去五年  四成上班族曾遭性骚扰!仅30%受害者举报
AFP

No new variants in weeks after China ended zero-COVID: study

08/02/2023
Stern warnings was an “in-between” solution as CPIB lacks sufficient evidence to prosecute six former KOM executives for bribery, said Indranee Rajah
Opinion

Basis of conviction by judge in corruption offence debunks claim by AGC of having insufficient evidence to prosecute the six former Keppel executives

08/02/2023
Keppel’s disgraced lawyer testify in US court about bribery scheme but Indranee says insufficient to charge anyone
Singapore

Keppel’s disgraced lawyer testify in US court about bribery scheme but Indranee says insufficient to charge anyone

08/02/2023
Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits
Opinion

Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits

08/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

08/02/2023

Microsoft sees ‘new day’ in war with Google over AI search engines

08/02/2023
过去五年  四成上班族曾遭性骚扰!仅30%受害者举报

No new variants in weeks after China ended zero-COVID: study

08/02/2023
Stern warnings was an “in-between” solution as CPIB lacks sufficient evidence to prosecute six former KOM executives for bribery, said Indranee Rajah

Basis of conviction by judge in corruption offence debunks claim by AGC of having insufficient evidence to prosecute the six former Keppel executives

08/02/2023
Keppel’s disgraced lawyer testify in US court about bribery scheme but Indranee says insufficient to charge anyone

Keppel’s disgraced lawyer testify in US court about bribery scheme but Indranee says insufficient to charge anyone

08/02/2023
Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits

Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits

08/02/2023
Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000

Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000

07/02/2023
Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
108

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
13

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
48

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
4

...

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

by The Online Citizen
02/02/2023
20

...

October 2016
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Sep   Nov »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz