SINGAPORE – Those looking to engage the services of a law firm should not do so at S K Kumar Law Practice as it does not have a valid law practice licence, said The Law Society of Singapore.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Law Society added that the firm, which fugitive lawyer Charles Yeo used to work at, does not have lawyers holding valid certificates to allow them to practise in Singapore.

It advised the public not to engage the firm or anyone purporting to be from the firm for assistance in legal matters.

Those who have already engaged the firm to represent them in ongoing matters “are advised to approach other law firms expeditiously to ensure that their matters are handled in a proper manner”, added the Law Society.

Yeo, 33, had a warrant of arrest issued against him in August 2022 after he absconded with criminal charges pending against him. They included multiple counts of harassment and wounding the religious feeling of Christians.

In July 2022, Yeo was given permission to leave Singapore for Vietnam to meet a witness linked to an unrelated trial that he was handling then.

On July 27, 2022, he was allowed to leave the country and was supposed to be back three days later. But after his departure, he shared on Instagram his intention to go to the United Kingdom to seek political asylum.

Mr S.K. Kumar, whom the law firm is named after, was himself disbarred in 2017 for misconduct, examples of which included misleading the court and wasting its time through being absent from hearings or seeking unnecessary adjournments.

Veteran lawyer Dhanwant Singh, who also practised under S K Kumar Law Practice, was fined $50,000 in 2019 for breaching rules that safeguard monies held by law firms on behalf of the parties in property transactions.

He had deposited $100,000 paid by an interested buyer of a property into the account of his firm’s client rather than its conveyancing account.

The Straits Times has contacted S K Kumar Law Practice for comment.