Lim Tean arrested in Johor Bahru after failing to surrender at Singapore State Courts
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Lim Tean arriving at the High Court on July 15. He was arrested on Aug 6 in Johor Bahru after failing to turn up in court in Singapore three days earlier.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean was arrested on Aug 6 in Johor Bahru by the Royal Malaysia Police after a warrant of arrest was issued against him for failing to turn up in court in Singapore.
He was supposed to surrender on Aug 3 to begin his jail term for practising law without a valid certificate. The arrest warrant was issued against him on the same day.
A spokesperson for the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Aug 7: “As Lim Tean has an outstanding court warrant for arrest in Singapore for failing to surrender to court, the SPF is working closely with the Royal Malaysia Police to secure his return to Singapore.”
Lim was convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act in July 2024, and sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of $1,000 by a district judge in February 2025.
Lim, who is secretary-general of the People’s Alliance for Reform, had attended court hearings and submitted documents on 32 occasions between April and June 2021 while not having a valid practising certificate in force.
He later filed an appeal in the High Court against his conviction and sentence.
Prosecutors also filed an appeal for a stiffer sentence of between five and eight months’ jail.
In February 2026, the High Court judge allowed the prosecution’s appeal and enhanced Lim’s sentence to imprisonment of three months and a week.
Lim was back in court in April 2026, where he was fined $30,000 in a disciplinary case over his handling of a $30,000 cheque that was meant for his client.
The Law Society of Singapore had called for him to be struck off the rolls, while he argued before the Court of Three Judges that “a very small fine” should be imposed.
The court cited several factors in imposing a heavier fine on Lim, including his cavalier attitude towards lawyers’ obligations in handling clients’ money and his status as a senior practitioner with more than 25 years of experience at the time.
Lawyers in Singapore must apply for their practising certificate every practice year, which runs from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.
Lim failed to apply for a practising certificate by March 31, 2021, because he had trouble obtaining his professional indemnity insurance, a prerequisite for applying for the certificate.
He is the founder of opposition party Peoples Voice (PV) and a co-founder of the People’s Alliance for Reform, which includes PV.