Singapore court forfeits $45,000 from Lim Tean’s bailor — Channel NewsAsia
A court in Singapore ordered the forfeiture of the entire bail amount — S$45,000 — from socio-political blogger Leong Sze Hian, who was the bailor for lawyer Lim Tean. The decision was made after Lim was suspected of fleeing to Malaysia before beginning his prison sentence.
According to Channel NewsAsia, 72-year-old Leong objected to the forfeiture. He said that he had contacted Lim the day before the lawyer was due to surrender to serve his sentence and had no reason to believe that he was planning to flee.
Arguments of the parties
Leong said that he had offered to accompany Lim to the place where he was to serve his sentence. According to him, the lawyer replied that this was unnecessary because the following morning, before his imprisonment, he intended to make a statement about jobs. On the day Lim was due to surrender, his lawyer told Leong that Lim had handed him two cases.
Leong also asked the court to take into account his health condition and his wife’s health problems. However, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution’s position that the bailor had failed to fulfill his duties.
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Prosecutor Brian Wong said that Leong was required to maintain daily contact with Lim but did not contact him on the day he was supposed to surrender. According to the prosecutor, Leong contacted Lim only after an investigator approached him.
Lim’s detention
Lim Tean, 61, was due to report to Singapore’s State Courts on August 3 to begin serving a sentence of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate. Instead, he left Singapore, after which an arrest warrant was issued for him.
The Royal Malaysia Police detained Lim on August 6 and handed him over to Singapore police on August 11. He has already begun serving his sentence, but no charges related to the alleged escape have yet been brought against him.
Of the forfeited S$45,000, S$30,000 was cash bail in one case, while another S$15,000 was non-cash security in another case. In Singapore, non-cash bail can be secured, among other things, by pledging property, jewellery, or watches.
