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SINGAPORE – A former attorney who misappropriated $ 31,550 in legal fees from 16 clients was jailed for two years and three months on Monday (September 28).
Zaminder Singh Gill had been a defender and lawyer for Hilborne Law when he embezzled the fees before leaving for Thailand, where he has a wife and son.
While the 57-year-old Singaporean faced a total of 15 counts of breach of trust for his crimes committed between January 2017 and June 2019, he pleaded guilty to only five counts involving five clients. His remaining charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The job could not be completed
Zaminder joined Hillborne Law in 2002 and was called to the Bar in 2005. He served the firm as a legal associate between 2016 and 2019.
In relation to the five charges brought against him, Zaminder’s clients had engaged his services as early as 2018, entrusting him with fees for legal services, including criminal, divorce and bankruptcy proceedings.
Since July of last year, he became uncontactable and did not deposit the fees in the company’s client account. Between July and August of last year, at least three clients filed police complaints against Zaminder for not attending to their legal affairs.
Unbeknownst to them at the time, Zaminder had been out of the country since June 28 of last year.
On July 18, 2019, a representative for Hilborne filed a police report against Zaminder, claiming that several people had contacted Hilborne claiming that they had engaged the firm’s services through the attorney. Although these individuals had paid legal fees to Zaminder, the money was not recorded in the company’s client register or deposited into the company’s office or client accounts.
Zaminder was arrested on October 14 last year when he was returning to Singapore. He claimed that he had been to Thailand, where his wife, stepson and son lived, and that he had broken his leg, allegedly delaying his return.
‘I’m really sorry’
Seeking a jail term of two years and three months, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Chew told the court that taking clients’ money is “one of the most serious crimes that an attorney and attorney can commit.”
“The various rules in place for how an attorney should treat a client’s money exist for the protection of the public and the integrity of the profession. The crimes of the accused have the potential to undermine public confidence in the legal profession and, therefore, the public interest requires a deterrent sentence, ”he added.
Addressing the court, an emotional Zaminder said that he was “really very sorry” for the offenses he committed and that he had “lost everything.” He said he was willing to accept the prosecution’s sentence.
Zaminder added that he hoped to resolve the compensation issue when he was released from prison, as he intended to discuss the matter with the firm through his current attorneys.
His lawyer, Shiever Subramaniam, told the court that Zaminder was truly sorry and that he had been the one who approached the authorities upon his return to Singapore.
Shiever added that Zaminder had used the pocketed funds not to feed his vices, but to put food on the table for his family in Thailand. He also noted that Zaminder had completed most of his clients’ work and that his main failure had been not informing his company that he had accepted clients.
Criminal breach of trust as a lawyer carries a jail term of up to 20 years along with a possible fine.
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