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A former lawyer was jailed yesterday for 27 months after he took legal fees from his clients to pay for his personal expenses.
Zaminder Singh Gill, a former Hilborne Law attorney, pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal breach of trust as a lawyer, and 10 other counts were taken into consideration.
Gill, 57, had pocketed more than $ 31,000 from his clients and was also unable to register clients with the firm.
The court heard that Gill was called to the Singapore Bar in 2005 and was a legal associate in Hilborne between 2016 and 2019.
Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Chew said Gill’s crimes came to light only after complaints from her clients.
In 2018, one of the victims had become engaged to Gill as he was under investigation for some crimes.
In May and June of last year, she entrusted him with $ 4,000 in legal fees, which he misappropriated instead of depositing into Hilborne’s client account.
In July of last year, he tried to contact Gill for an update on his case, but was unable to reach him.
Then his company told him he was abroad.
He later tried to contact him several times, but to no avail, and then Hilborne informed him that he had been fired.
Between July and August of last year, at least three people had filed police complaints against Gill for not attending to his legal affairs.
On July 18 last year, a representative for Hilborne filed a police report against Gill and claimed that several people had contacted the firm claiming that he had been hired as an attorney and paid legal fees.
DPP Chew said: “However, the Hilborne representative reported that these individuals were not registered in Hilborne’s client registry and that the money collected was not deposited into Hilborne’s client or office accounts.”
Gill was arrested after returning to Singapore from Thailand in October last year.
His lawyer, Mr. R. Shiever, said that Gill had used the money for his family in Thailand, where his partner, stepson and son live.
The DPP asked for at least 27 months in jail, arguing that Gill had committed serious crimes and did not make any restitution.
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