SINGAPORE: Six trainee lawyers who cheated in the 2020 Bar examinations withdrew their applications on Monday August 15 to practice law in Singapore.
Among the six are Ms Monisha Devaraj, Mr Kushal Atul Shah, Mr Sreeraam Ravenderan, Mr Matthew Chow Jun Feng, Mr Lionel Wong Choong Yoong and Ms Lynn Kuek Yi Ting.
Five of them shared answers for six exam papers through WhatsApp, while Ms Kuek was found to have colluded with another candidate to cheat in three of the papers.
All six were allowed to withdraw their Bar applications by a High Court judge on Monday.
In Singapore, law graduates must be admitted to the bar by passing a set of exams known as Part B.
The Bar refers to legal professionals who have met all the requirements for legal education and vocational training to be admitted to the Singapore Court as advocates and solicitors.
In April, Justice Choo Han Teck adjourned the Bar Admission hearing of Ms Kuek for a year and the hearings of the remaining five trainees for six months.
A proposal by the Attorney-General to allow more time for the trainee lawyers to reflect on their mistakes would be beneficial to them.
The Attorney-General said they lacked honesty and integrity as they cheated in the Part B exams, and they objected to the Bar applications of the six.
Lawyer Sreenivasan Narayanan, who represented Ms Devaraj, Mr. Shah and Mr Wong, said that the six-month period was insufficient for them to show that the circumstances of being a fit and proper person have changed. He said that they needed time to address issues raised in Justice Choo's earlier judgement, as well as the guidance given by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in another withdrawal application by a trainee lawyer who cheated, Mr. Leon Tay Quan Li
Mr Sreenivasan told Justice Choo that the three would give a thought to what they have done and to consult the other stakeholders of the Bar admissions process before making any future application.
The stakeholders are the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, the Attorney-General, the Law Society and the Attorney-General. There will be no half-baked attempts and any application will be made after a deep and considered reflection, said Mr Sreenivasan.
The lawyers representing the three other trainees echoed Mr Sreenivasan's submissions.
Justice Choo allowed the withdrawals after representatives of the Attorney-General, the Law Society and SILE did not object to them.
He said that the trainee lawyers should find work as a lawyer or similar roles in the legal profession, so that a respected mentor can testify to their suitability to apply to the Bar.
He did not set a time for the trainee lawyers to reapply, saying: Although each case will be different, it will also depend on the testimony of your mentors and your subsequent conduct.
That would be a matter for me to consider myself, without me having to say what the time should be.