Lim Tean sentenced to 3 months and 1 week jail; fined S$1,000, for practising law without a valid certificate

SINGAPORE: On Monday (February 23), the High Court extended the sentence of opposition leader and lawyer Lim Tean for practising law without a valid certificate.

Mr Lim was convicted of the offence in July 2024. He was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 fine just over a year ago, on February 17, 2025, after which he said he would appeal both the conviction and the sentence.

However, Justice Kannan Ramesh dismissed the appeal on Monday. CNA reported that the judge agreed that the sentence Mr Lim had been given had been “manifestly inadequate,” and extended the sentence to three months and one week, along with the S$1,000 fine.

The prosecution had sought five to eight months’ jail for Mr Lim, who leads both the People’s Voice party as well as the People’s Alliance for Reform.

In response to his conviction, Mr Lim posted the following on Facebook:

“I Have Instructed My Legal Team To Do The Necessary To Appeal Justice Kannan Ramesh’s Decision This Morning To The Court Of Appeal. I will have more to say in the coming days.”

Lim Tean’s legal troubles

Three charges had been filed against Mr Lim of acting as a lawyer without a valid practising certificate under the Legal Profession Act, which he contested. Four other charges were also filed against him, including unlawfully stalking an ex-employee and criminal breach of trust for misappropriating his client’s money.

According to the prosecution, Mr Lim had acted as an advocate and solicitor when he had no valid practising certificate, adding that the evidence was “clear and incontrovertible.”

“Between April 1 and June 9, 2021, the accused sued out of a writ on behalf of a client, attended court hearings and prepared court documents on 32 occasions while as an unauthorised person, defined by the LPA, who did not have a valid practising certificate,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh at the time.

However, Mr Lim had only been issued a certificate on June 10, 2021. /TISG

Read also: PV’s Lim Tean faces backlash over intention to contest Potong Pasir SMC