SINGAPORE – A lawyer who falsely attested that she had witnessed the signing of several documents, even though they had not actually been signed in her presence, was handed a one-year suspension on Jan 16.

The Law Society of Singapore had argued for 30 months’ suspension for Ms Kasturibai Manickam.

But the Court of Three Judges, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, said this was an instance of a “grave error of judgment” rather than a character defect.

There was no dispute that the documents were signed by the intended signatories, said the Chief Justice.

He said Ms Kasturibai’s error was to decide to attest that she witnessed the signing of the documents because she knew the parties and thought no harm would ensue.

Ms Kasturibai, who has more than 25 years’ experience as a lawyer, had acted for a pair of siblings who were the registered owners of a condominium unit.

Ms Santha Devi V. Puthenveetil Kesava Pillay and her brother, Mr Raman Puthenveetil Kesava Pillay, had sold the property in September 2020 to two individuals. 

Ms Kasturibai’s firm, East Asia Law Corporation, had previously acted for the siblings in several matters prior to the sale of the property. Mr Raman’s wife was also a long-time employee of the law firm.

In the course of acting for the siblings, Ms Kasturibai prepared six documents for the transaction, which were all signed by Ms Santha Devi.

Between Sept 7, 2020, and Nov 5, 2020, Ms Kasturibai signed as a witness to Ms Santha Devi’s signature, even though the lawyer did not in fact witness the signing.

Five of the documents, including a transfer instrument, a seller’s stamp duty declaration, and a letter of authority for the sale proceeds to be paid to the firm, were sent to the law firm acting for the purchasers.

Ms Santha Devi later lodged a complaint with the Law Society against Ms Kasturibai, and a disciplinary tribunal was appointed in May 2022 to formally investigate the matter.

The tribunal’s report, issued in October 2022, did not elaborate on the events leading to the complaint.

During the tribunal hearing, Ms Kasturibai admitted that she signed as a witness to Ms Santha Devi’s signature despite not having witnessed the signing.

Ms Kasturibai’s lawyer, Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, argued that she did not act for her personal benefit and that her motivation for doing so was to help her elderly clients avoid travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also argued that there was very little harm caused, as the transaction was legitimate.

The tribunal found that Ms Kasturibai’s act of false attestation involved an element of dishonesty and constituted grossly improper conduct.

The tribunal found that the case was serious enough to be referred to the court, which has the power to suspend or disbar lawyers.

During the court hearing on Jan 16, Mr Sreenivasan said Ms Kasturibai would like to tender her deepest apologies to the court and to the profession.

The court allowed the suspension to take effect on March 7, to give her time to find another lawyer to take over her files.