SINGAPORE – Lawyer Lim Tean was handed over to the Singapore authorities on Aug 11 following his arrest in Johor Bahru.
The Singapore Police Force said the Commercial Affairs Department arrested Lim upon his return from Malaysia. The founder of opposition party Peoples Voice was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police on Aug 6.
He had failed to surrender at the Singapore State Courts 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.
Investigations into the circumstances of his illegal departure are ongoing, police said in a statement.
The 61-year-old 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 also 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 increased Lim’s sentence to imprisonment of three months and a week.
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.
On Aug 8, two Singaporeans who allegedly helped him leave Singapore were charged in court. Mohammad Adam Abd Karim, 44, and Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus, 37, were each handed one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice.
According to charge sheets, the two men had made arrangements for Lim to leave Singapore on Aug 4. No further information about what they did was provided.
In April 2026, Lim was also 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.