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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore police arrested a lawyer on Friday for alleged criminal breach of trust, days before he set out to defend a client in a defamation case against the city-state’s prime minister.
Police said the lawyer, Lim Tean, who leads a small opposition party that unsuccessfully contested this year’s election, was also being investigated for stalking and had failed to comply with previous notices to attend police interviews.
“The police had no choice but to arrest Mr. Lim Tean to carry out the investigations,” police said in a statement, adding that they rejected Lim’s allegations that the arrest was politically motivated.
The prime minister’s press secretary referred Reuters to the police statement and had no further comment.
In a trial likely to be closely followed next week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing financial adviser Leong Sze Hian over a Facebook post in which he shared a story linking Lee to the US money laundering scandal. Malaysia 1MBD state fund.
Lee’s lawyers at the time said the accusation was “false and unsubstantiated” and Leong subsequently removed the post.
During hearings that will last three days, the prime minister is ready to take the stand to give testimony and be questioned. Leong was scheduled to be represented by Lim, but it was not immediately clear how Lim’s arrest could change that.
Human rights lawyer M Ravi, Lim’s defense attorney, posted a picture on Facebook of Lim being detained by the police in his office and said that Lim had protested against his arrest for “political reasons”. Ravi said Lim would “vigorously contest the allegations.”
“The police reject his allegations that the investigations are politically motivated. The alleged victims of Mr. Lim Tean had filed police complaints alleging serious crimes committed by him, and the police have a duty to investigate the allegations,” said the police. in your statement.
(Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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