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SINGAPORE: The Attorney General’s Office (AGC) suspended the criminal proceedings and issued a conditional warning against lawyer Ravi Madasamy, better known as M Ravi, for allegedly defamation of Justice Minister K Shanmugam.
The decision was made after “careful consideration” of statements by Ravi’s defense attorney, the AGC said in a press release on Wednesday (March 3).
Mr. Ravi was charged with defaming Mr. Shanmugam by citing an accusation that the Minister of Justice “commands the (shots) and (controls)” as well as “exercises influence” over the Chief Justice. He had made the claims in a Facebook post on November 6 of last year.
READ: Lawyer M Ravi charged with criminal defamation of Justice Minister K Shanmugam
The AGC said it decided to suspend the criminal proceedings on the condition that Ravi accept a 24-month conditional warning for the crime; delete the relevant Facebook post; and publish an apology and a commitment not to repeat the accusations.
“As of February 25, Mr. Ravi has withdrawn the offending position. Mr. Ravi has also published a written apology and commitment, in which he accepts that the allegations at the offending position are false and completely unsubstantiated.” said the AGC.
“It has also agreed not to publish any further statements on this matter, nor to make allegations that have the same or similar effect, in any way.
“On March 3, the charge was dropped for a discharge that does not amount to an acquittal. If Mr. Ravi breaches any of the conditions of the warning, the charge against him may be revived.”
Ravi apologized “unreservedly” to Shanmugam for his remarks in a Facebook post on February 25.
“I now admit and acknowledge that these accusations are false and completely baseless,” he said at the time.
Mr. Ravi is a well known human rights attorney for Carson Law Chambers who has represented several convicts on death row.
READ: AGC files disciplinary complaint with Law Society against attorney M Ravi
In October, he successfully fought the death sentence of drug lord Gobi Avedian, but later gave an interview to Online Citizen Asia that prompted a rebuttal by AGC.
After Mr. Ravi did not apologize or back down from the allegations he allegedly made insinuating that the AGC had acted in bad faith or maliciously, AGC filed a disciplinary complaint with the Singapore Bar Association for its possible professional misconduct.
The result of the complaint is pending.
