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SINGAPORE – Attorney Lee Suet Fern has been suspended for 15 months by the Three-Judge Court for handling the last will of her late father-in-law Lee Kuan Yew.
In a written judgment issued on Friday (November 20), the highest disciplinary body of the legal profession found Ms. Lee guilty of improper misconduct of a defender and lawyer, for preparing and executing the will that her husband, the Mr. Lee Hsien Yang, you had set your sights on profit.
A disciplinary court (DT) had found Ms Lee guilty of grossly inappropriate professional conduct in February this year.
The Court held a virtual hearing in August where the Law Society made its case as to why Ms. Lee should be disbarred for her handling of the will. Ms. Lee’s attorneys asked that all charges be dropped.
The Court, consisting of Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Appellate Judge Judith Prakash, and Judge Woo Bih Li, said they disagreed with some of the court’s findings, in particular that there was an implicit advance between Ms. . Lee and Mr. Lee senior and that they were in an attorney-client relationship.
The Court also said that Ms. Lee did not receive instructions or directions directly from Mr. Lee senior.
“However, we agree with the DT that the Respondent is guilty of improper misconduct by an advocate and attorney. Given the circumstances and the nature of his misconduct, we consider it appropriate to suspend the Respondent from practicing law for a period of time. 15 months, “the court said.
The case focused on the role that Ms. Lee played in preparing and executing the late Mr. Lee’s last will which was signed on December 17, 2013. He died on March 23, 2015, at the age of 91. .
His last will differed significantly from his sixth and penultimate wills and did not contain some changes that he had wanted and discussed with his lawyer Kwa Kim Li four days earlier.
Among the differences was a demolition clause, relating to the demolition of his 38 Oxley Road home after his death, which had not been in the sixth or penultimate will, but was in the last.
The share of the inheritance bequeathed to each of his three children was also different, as Dr. Lee Wei Ling, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang, and their older brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, received equal shares. In the sixth testament, Dr. Lee was to receive a larger share.
Ms. Lee’s role in handling the last will had prompted a complaint from the Attorney General’s Office to the Lawyers Society in January last year (2019) about possible professional misconduct.
Deputy Attorney General Lionel Yee had asked that the case be referred to a disciplinary court and CJ Menon appointed a court composed of lead attorney Sarjit Singh Gill and attorney Leon Yee Kee Shian.
The court had said in its 206-page grounds for decision that the facts laid out an “unpleasant story” of how she and her husband had tricked Mr. Lee into signing a new will without the advice of her regular attorney, Ms. Kwa, who had prepared his six previous wills.
Mr. Lee, of legal age, was then 90 years old and in poor health.
In August, the court reserved the ruling after the virtual hearing.
The Law Society, represented by attorney Koh Swee Yen, had argued that Ms. Lee had been involved in the preparation and execution of the will despite knowing that her husband would benefit from it.
He also said that the 37-year-old attorney had rushed his father-in-law in the process of signing it without the advice of his regular attorney, who had prepared his previous wills.
Countering the society’s arguments in court, lead attorney Kenneth Tan and Professor Walter Woon, a former attorney general, said that Ms. Lee was acting out of affection and concern as a daughter-in-law by helping Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and that he was simply performing an administrative function.
They added that there could be no conflict of interest because Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, “a brilliant lawyer”, was fully aware of what he wanted and had consented to have Ms. Lee handle the will for him. They called for all charges to be dropped.
In a statement posted on Facebook by her husband Lee Hsien Yang on Friday, Ms Lee said that she did not agree with the decision.
“There was no basis for this case to be started. It was a private will,” he said.
“Lee Kuan Yew knew what he wanted. He got what he wanted. The Court of Three did not find that he was in a state of mental health or that he was not in control. He made the decision to revert to his historic 2011 will after discussions with his lawyer Kwa Kim Li before I was entrusted with the task of finding a witness. Anyone can revoke his own will while he is alive. “
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