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MORE needy defendants are turning to a programme which provides them with free lawyers, and almost one in five has seen it make a difference in the outcome of his case.
Between January and May this year, advocates from the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) succeeded in getting an acquittal and charges reduced or withdrawn in 21 out of the 110 pro bono cases they handled.
Last year, Clas, which is run by the Law Society, took up 188 cases.
On April 22 this year, Clas managed to get port worker Yunani Abdul Hamid, 34, acquitted after he had pleaded guilty last November to drug trafficking.
He could not afford the $10,000 that a lawyer wanted to act for him, and he was sentenced to nine years in jail and six strokes of the cane.
He appealed for leniency. That was when Clas volunteer Abraham Vergis, 35, of Drew & Napier, persuaded the High Court to quash the earlier conviction.
After an eight-day re-trial, Mr Yunani was acquitted because an alleged accomplice had testified that the port worker may not have known about the drugs.
The prosecution appealed, but dropped it two weeks ago after considering the grounds of decision by the judge.
Mr Yunani told The Straits Times: 'The appeal was like a dark cloud in my life. If they won, I would be jailed and caned. Now, I am finally free, and it is all thanks to Clas.'
Another case Clas took up involved a 39-year-old woman who was accused of stealing a $2,000 gold bangle while staying overnight at a friend's house.
Clas volunteer lawyer V.G. Sambandan, 62, of Sambandan & Co, argued that there were 10 people in the four-room flat that night, any one of whom could have committed the crime.
The prosecution withdrew the charge on the first day of the woman's trial.
Clas lawyers also managed to get charges reduced by the Attorney-General's Chambers by highlighting factors that were in their clients' favour. 'In some cases, this could be that the victim had provoked the assault,' said lawyer Luke Lee.
The 55-year-old Mr Lee, who was a police investigator for 16 years, was presented a gold award by the Law Society last year for handling more than 30 Clas cases since he was called to the Bar in 1995.
He said some people pleaded guilty and threw themselves at the mercy of the court if they had no lawyer, just like Mr Yunani.
While Clas volunteers declined to divulge the usual cost of their services, checks revealed it could cost up to $80,000 to hire a lawyer from the big firms for a week-long trial.
Highlighting the importance of pro bono services, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong has repeatedly called for more lawyers to step forward and help the poor who need legal assistance - and the ranks of Clas volunteer lawyers have grown from 302 last year to 334 this year.
'Several criminal lawyers also work for free on their own for cash-strapped clients, but these are rarely reported,' said Mr B.J. Lean, 61, of law firm B.J. Lean and a Clas volunteer since 1985.
Mr Lee summed up the sentiment of fellow volunteers when he said: 'We are not paid, but the work is very satisfying.'
khush@sph.com.sg
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