Lim Tean arrest: JB condo landlord surprised, says he looked ordinary and 'not menacing'

The landlord of the Johor Bahru apartment, where opposition politician Lim Tean was reportedly arrested on Aug 6, was surprised that he was a wanted man in Singapore, saying he looked ordinary and "not menacing".

Lim, 61, was found in the apartment — after an arrest warrant was issued against him on Aug 3 for failing to surrender at the Singapore State Courts to begin his jail term the same day. 

The landlord of the unit in Southkey Mosaic condominium, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was taken aback when she received a notification from Malaysian police about the arrest, reported Shin Min Daily News on Thursday (Aug 13).

The condo is a 15-minute walk away from Mid Valley Southkey mall.

"All I knew was that he was Singaporean," she said, adding that the unit was rented out by Mohammad Adam Abd Karim, 44, who allegedly helped Lim leave Singapore. 

Adam was charged on Aug 8 with one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice. 

The fully furnished one bedroom unit was rented out for about RM100 (S$30) a night.

The homeowner told Shin Min that Adam had originally planned to check out on Aug 7, but Lim was arrested on the 6th.

"The police also told us not to touch anything in the house that day, and that we could only go in to tidy up the next day when it was time to check out," she said. 

Books and clothes among items left behind

She said that Lim left several English books and some clothes behind.

"I believe he brought some books to read in order to pass the time. We also couldn't contact the person who made the reservation, because he was probably arrested as well, and we didn't think he would come back to get them, so all the things were gone," she said.

She also pointed out that the room was kept quite tidy, saying that "there was actually not much trash in the room", and described him as "a pretty clean and good tenant".

In addition, the homeowner revealed that a cup of diluted milk tea, which had only been partially drunk, was left in the unit and possibly brewed by Lim before his arrest. 

Arrested on return to Singapore

Lim was later arrested by Singapore police upon his return on Tuesday (Aug 11).

He was originally supposed to surrender on July 20 this year, but had asked for an adjournment so that he could settle his personal affairs.

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".

Lim was declared bankrupt in April this year and was also fined $30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client's money.

Lim is the founder of Peoples Voice party and secretary-general of the People's Alliance for Reform, an alliance of opposition parties.

He contested last year's General Election in Potong Pasir SMC and finished third behind the People's Action Party's Alex Yeo and the Singapore People's Party's Williamson Lee.

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esther.lam@asiaone.com