SINGAPORE: In the most recent instance of his legal issues, suspended attorney M Ravi has been given a 21-day prison term for contempt of court.
The 54-year-old man, who goes by the whole name Ravi Madasamy, had been found innocent of nine contemptuous offenses.
Less than a month after, in front of Justice Audrey Lim in the High Court, four people were committed in State Courts before District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt.
In November 2021, Ravi intentionally interrupted Judge Chay and insulted him by saying that he could” remove … at will by the State ,” scandalizing the court by accusing him of being” biased” without cause.
Later that month, in the Chua Qwong Meng v. SBS Transit situation, Ravi purposefully interrupted Justice Lim, accused her of bias without justification, and raised questions about the court’s decorum.
Additionally, he requested Justice Lim unfit herself on the grounds of partiality without consulting Mr. Chua, his client.
It was undeniable that Ravi was experiencing a hypomanic episode at the time of the offenses due to his depressive illness.
However, the trial claimed that Ravi’s ability to exercise self-control and caution was not significantly restricted by the problem.
The prosecution requested Ravi’s five-week jail sentence as well as costs of S$ 12, 000 in disbursements.
Ravi, who was not represented, argued that just as a last resort if jail be imposed as punishment.
He claimed that his bipolar illness significantly affected his behavior at the time and requested charges in its place.
On Wednesday, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng acknowledged that Ravi’s depressive problem was related to his behavior in some way, but he did not believe it was severe enough to seriously impair his ability to exercise self-control.
Justice Hoo asserted that the seriousness of ( Ravi’s ) offending acts( both individually and collectively ) far outweighs the mitigating effect of his bipolar disorder.
She claimed that Ravi was a freshman lawyer performing his professional duties and that his guilt” remains high.”
” In three set of punitive trials, with economic sanctions imposed on him in two of them, he had related origins of wrongdoing in the court.” He has even demonstrated a lack of regret in these deliberations, according to Justice Hoo.
She gave the Attorney General’s ( AG ) costs of$ 10,000.
After the hearing, Ravi stated in a Facebook post that he thought the sentence was” very harsh ,” but added that it was his decision not to appeal and that the punishment would be carried out right away.
For making complaints against the AG, Attorney General’s Chambers soldiers, and the Law Society, the attorney of 20 years had been suspended for a maximum of five times in March.
Separately, he is facing criminal charges for slapping a woman in front of the temple, another man near the train station, and acting careless.
In the upcoming weeks, he is scheduled to return to court for a further notice and pre-trial event for those costs.