Singapore:
According to a media report on Wednesday, three of Indian descent are trainee lawyers among the six who cheated during the 2020 Bar Exams in Singapore.
Singapore Supreme Court judge Choo Han Teck on Wednesday withdrew an order to have their names edited, Channel News Asia reported.
The six individuals named in the ex-tempore verdict are Monisha Devaraj, Kushal Atul Shah, Sreeraam Ravenderan of Indian descent, as well as Lynn Kuek Yi Ting, Matthew Chow Jun Feng and Lionel Wong Choong Yoong of Chinese descent.
Judge Choo said he had granted a request from the attorney general to revoke the drafting and sealing warrants after “huge public interest” in the case.
“Initially I thought that editing the names of the applicants would allow them to go smoothly and smoothly, but I now believe that it is better to face the publicity than to hide from it,” the judge said.
In his first verdict last week, Judge Choo said he would not name the six lawyers “in the hope that they will not be biased in the long run” after it was found that they had cheated in the exams.
“In a profession where every member has to be like Caesar’s wife, undisputed dishonesty is a big problem. But it would also be tough to end your professional career before it has even started,” the judge said last week.
Five of the trainee lawyers shared the answers for six of the exam papers via WhatsApp, while the latter colluded with another candidate to cheat on three of the papers, according to the Channel report.
Judge Choo has granted a six-month suspension for the filing of the five trainees’ filings and a one-year suspension for the remaining trainee lawyer’s application.
Judge Choo added: “Strong feelings can sometimes interfere with the proper understanding of the idea of second chances.” After the initial disclosure of the six applicants, the attorney general’s chambers said the attorney general was considering the applications of another five cheating interns.
In order to practice law in Singapore, law graduates must be admitted to the bar through a series of exams known as Part B. Law graduates from recognized foreign universities must also pass another conversion exam which is known as part A.
According to the report, the Attorney General, the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) and the Law Society of Singapore are not allowed to object to the application for the lawyer’s admission.
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