SINGAPORE: Lawyer and politician Lim Tean has been given two more charges for refusing to answer a police officer and committing criminal breach of trust as an attorney.
Lim, 57, was on Friday (Sep 23) given one new charge of dishonestly misappropriating a sum of S$5,500 paid by AXA Insurance, therefore committing criminal breach of trust during his business as an attorney.
According to charge sheets, the money was a settlement sum belonging to a woman, that he allegedly pocketed around Apr 3, 2020.
Lim was handed a second fresh charge of refusing to answer a public servant authorised to question. He allegedly refused to answer questions on Jun 10, 2022, at the Commercial Affairs Department about the facts and circumstances of a case involving US$50,000 a person had paid to him in October 2017.
This brings the total number of charges Lim faces to seven. He was previously charged with criminal breach of trust for misappropriating S$30,000 that was entrusted to him in late 2019, that was a sum awarded to a former client as a settlement in a civil suit.
Lim also faces three charges of being an unauthorised person who acted as an advocate or solicitor.
He is also suspected of preparing documents and instruments relating to court proceedings on 33 occasions, acting as an advocate or solicitor when he did not have a valid practising certificate.
Lim also faces an unlawful stalking charge for allegedly harassing an ex-employee of his law firm.
He is set to return to court for a pre-trial conference in October.
