PUBLISHED ONSeptember 17, 2026 9:37 AMUPDATEDSeptember 17, 2026 1:57 PMBYSean LerBlogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian forfeited his $45,000 bail posted for lawyer Lim Tean on Thursday (Sept 17), after the Court found that he had failed to fulfil his obligations as surety.
The amount comprises $30,000 in monetary security for one case and $15,000 in non-monetary security for another.
Arguing against the forfeiture, Leong, 72, said he had done his best in fulfilling his duties, pointing out that he had contacted Lim on Aug 2, a day before the 61-year-old lawyer was to surrender himself.
Leong added that there was "constant contact" between him and Lim, including when Lim was required to be present at the police station or in court.
He also said that there was communication between Lim and his lawyer, up to the day he was supposed to surrender himself.
"So given the circumstances, I had no reason to believe that he was going to run away," Leong told the court.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code, a bailor is required to keep in daily communication with the released person and lodge a police report within 24 hours, if contact is lost with the person on bail.
In addition, a bailor is required under the Court to ensure that the released person is within Singapore, unless the person has been permitted by an authorised police officer or the court to leave Singapore.
In arguing for the bail amount to be forfeited, Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong said that Lim had failed to keep to the requirement of daily communication.
He pointed to the fact that Leong was not in touch with Lim on the day of his surrender, only doing so after he was contacted by a police officer.
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt told Leong that he had agreed to take on certain duties and responsibilities, including the associated conditions, when he stood bail for Lim.
Given that Lim had left Singapore without the permission of the court, Leong had failed to fulfil his duties as bailor, Judge Chay added.
Lim was convicted in July 2024 of three charges under the Legal Profession Act and was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of $1,000 by a district judge in February 2025.
But that was increased to three months and one week after a judge agreed with the prosecution that his original sentence was "manifestly inadequate".
The opposition politician was declared bankrupt in April this year, and was also fined $30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client's money.
Lim was originally supposed to surrender on July 20, but had asked for an adjournment so that he could settle his personal affairs.
But he failed to surrender for his jail term on Aug 3 and a warrant of arrest was issued.
His lawyer, Revi Shanker, told The Straits Times that Lim was fully aware that he had to surrender to the State Courts at 12pm, but had failed to do so.
“I’m puzzled as to why he didn’t show up. He was still messaging me in the morning, but he became uncontactable after that,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.
Lim was later arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police in Johor Bahru on Aug 6 and deported to Singapore.
He was arrested by the Singapore Police Force upon his return on Aug 11.
Following his arrest, two Singaporean men, aged 37 and 44, were charged for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to defeat the course of justice by assisting Lim to leave Singapore for Malaysia.
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