2 men to be charged for allegedly conspiring to help Lim Tean leave Singapore

Two Singaporean men will be charged in court for assisting Lim Tean in leaving Singapore for Malaysia, after the secretary-general of the People's Alliance for Reform did not surrender himself to the State Courts on Aug 3.

The men, aged 37 and 44, will be charged for their "suspected involvement in a conspiracy to defeat the course of justice" on Saturday (Aug 8), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men were believed to have conspired to make arrangements for Lim Tean to illegally depart Singapore for Malaysia," they added.

An arrest warrant for Lim was issued when he did not surrender himself to the State Courts on Aug 3 to commence his imprisonment term.

He was subsequently arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) in Johor Bahru on Aug 6.

The SPF is working closely with the RMP to secure his return back to Singapore.

The men will each be charged with one count of "engaging in a conspiracy to do an act that has a tendency to defeat the course of justice", the SPF said.

If convicted, the men may be jailed for up to seven years, or fined, or both.

"The authorities take a firm stance against those who assist others to evade justice. Such offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law," they 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, the Straits Times reported.

He had attended court hearings and submitted documents on 32 occasions between April and June 2021 while not having a valid practising certificate in force.

His sentence 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, and was also fined $30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client's money.

Lim is the founder of Peoples Voice (PV) 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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daoen.wong@asiaone.com