SINGAPORE: After Member of Parliament Christopher James de Souza was found not guilty of improper professional conduct as a lawyer, the Law Society of Singapore( LawSoc ) has been ordered to reimburse him for costs totaling more than S 32,000 ( US$ 23 700 ).
For the administrative tribunal proceedings brought against Mr. de Souza for misconduct, he had initially been ordered to pay LawSoc the exact sum.
Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng and Mr. Calvin Ong of WongPartnership, two of his attorneys, told CNA on Tuesday( Nov. 7 ) that he is” humbled” by the outcome and feels fully vindicated.
According to his attorneys, Mr. de Souza is nowadays permitted to” continue focusing on his many responsibilities- to relatives, country, and practice.” & nbsp,
Mr. de Souza, who is also Deputy Speaker of Parliament, was found guilty by the administrative judge of aiding a client in stifling data from the courtroom.
But, the Court of Three Judges overturned the decision and exonerated Mr. de Souza in July, stating that it was obvious to them that his customer had not intended to reduce the break.
By utilizing private information and documents that had been obtained as a result of research orders and were only to be used in High Court lawsuits, Mr. de Souza’s clientele had violated his promises to the court.
Otherwise, the customer used them to report the parties it was suing with police and other information.
Justice Belinda Ang, Justice Woo Bih Li, and Justice Kannan Ramesh found that LawSoc had not established its accusation against Mr. de Souza and that” goal is a necessary component of the fee” in the Court of Three Judges’ decision.
The Court of Three Judges ordered LawSoc to reimburse Mr. de Souza for the S$ 32, 394.12 he had paid the court after the administrative court hearings were over in the cause of determination that was published on Tuesday.
The amount included costs of S$ 18, 000 and costs incurred by the law firm on behalf of a customer, such as Mho$ 14, 394.12.
The yard claimed that Mr. de Souza’s attorneys had argued that LawSoc should pay fees for the reading before the Court of Three Judges as well, claiming that their inquiries into his behavior were” unjustified.”
His attorneys claimed that LawSoc had pursued their consumer” in an oppressive and unjust way.”
However, the jury ordered both parties to cover their own fees for this because it was” sceptical that an unfavorable prices attempt should be made” against LawSoc for the Court of Three Judges reading.
The attorneys for Mr. de Souza cited the judge’s decision on Tuesday, which stated that” he had indeed disclosed the clients’ vulnerabilities to the Court and that this’ was fatal to a Law Society event theory’.”
They stated that Bukit Timah GRC, the MP for Holland,” is satisfied that the problem has suddenly been resolved and he has been completely vindicated.”
LawSoc has been contacted by CNA for comment.