SINGAPORE - Activist lawyer M. Ravi has been fined $7,000 by the council of the Law Society of Singapore "for misconduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as a member of an honorable profession".

The penalty was announced in the government gazette on Friday, and comes under the Legal Profession Act.

The penalty was imposed as Mr Ravi had "prematurely released various court documents relating to the legal proceedings before they were served on the opposing party", in his capacity as the advocate and solicitor on record for several plaintiffs or applicants, the Council wrote.

It added that Mr Ravi "had made certain statements to the media in respect of the legal proceedings which were calculated to interfere with the fair proceeding or trial of the legal proceedings".

Mr Ravi's improper professional conduct involved cases of four clients brought against the Attorney-General, one of which was a bid to get the courts to ban workplace discrimination against homosexuals.

The other cases were judicial reviews, including the deportation of a foreign worker involved in the Little India riot in 2013.