SINGAPORE, Oct 9 — Singapore Opposition politician and lawyer Lim Tean was handed three fresh charges today over his alleged flight to Malaysia after failing to surrender to begin a jail sentence, with a court ordering that he remain in custody after completing his current prison term.
The 61-year-old, who was arrested in Johor Bahru in August after failing to surrender to authorities in Singapore, appeared via video link for his first criminal court hearing since the incident, according to Singapore-based media organisation CNA.
The new charges fall under Singapore’s Immigration Act and Criminal Procedure Code, with one involving an alleged intention to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice.
CNA reported that the full details of the charges were still being checked.
Lim, dressed in a white shirt and wearing spectacles, was represented by lawyer Revi Shanker.
Prosecutors told the court that investigations involving Lim remained outstanding and applied for him to be denied bail once he completes his existing prison sentence.
The court granted the application.
Shanker told the court he had no further updates and would speak to his client.
The case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on October 23.
Lim, the founder of Opposition party Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People's Alliance for Reform, is serving a jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid practising certificate.
He was convicted in July 2024 after representing clients in court and preparing legal documents during a period when he was not authorised to practise.
A district court initially sentenced him to six weeks in prison and fined him S$3,200 in February 2025.
However, Singapore's High Court increased his sentence to three months and one week in February this year after allowing a prosecution appeal against the sentence and dismissing Lim's own appeal.
Lim was due to surrender at the State Courts on August 3 to begin serving his sentence but failed to appear, prompting authorities to issue a warrant for his arrest.
He had left Singapore while on court bail.
Malaysian police arrested him in Johor Bahru on August 6 and handed him over to the Singapore Police Force on August 11.
He subsequently began serving his prison sentence.
The incident also resulted in his bailor, socio-political blogger Leong Sze Hian, being ordered to forfeit the full S$45,000 he had put up as bail.
Lim, who was declared bankrupt in April, was separately fined S$30,000 over misconduct involving the handling of a former client's money.
He also faces other outstanding criminal charges, including criminal breach of trust as an attorney and unlawful stalking.
Meanwhile, two men have been charged over their alleged roles in arranging for Lim to leave Singapore illegally.
Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus, 38, and Mohammad Adam Abd Karim, 45, each face a charge of conspiring to commit an act likely to defeat the course of justice.
Both men were also scheduled to return to court today, with their cases still pending.
