Criminal lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam and his associate Johannes Hadi were each charged on Friday (Apr. 22) with two counts of breaching a gag order, as reported by CNA.

What they are accused of

Thuraisingam and his team of lawyers, which included Hadi, were defending a Singaporean doctor in a molestation case. The case eventually led to the doctor's acquittal.

According Today, Thuraisingam had allegedly instructed Hadi to distribute transcripts of the court proceedings to the press in 2021.

These transcripts contained information that were not redacted, and was likely to lead to the identification of the complainant.

Hadi allegedly distributed the transcripts on Mar. 16, 2021 and Aug 11, 2021.

CNA reported that both Thuraisingam and Hadi will return to court on May 20, 2022 for a pre-trial conference.

The molestation case they were defending

In February 2020, Yeo Sow Nam, a director of a clinic at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, was charged with four counts of molestation involving a 32-year-old woman.

But on Aug 16, 2021, Yeo was acquitted of all the charges after the woman admitted in court that she was lying.

As a result of the acquittal, Yeo can no longer be charged with the same offences.

The prosecution had withdrawn the charges mid-trial after reviewing the evidence and the defence’s representations.

During the trial, which started in March 2021, the woman admitted in court that she had told several lies.

When cross-examined by Thuraisingam, the woman admitted she lied so often in court that she could not remember when she was truthful.

The defence also called for the woman to be publicly named, and to have her gag order lifted.

But according to CNA, the defence later withdrew their application due to legal reasons.

In a statement on Aug, 31, 2021, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said it would not be taking action against the woman as "inconsistencies" in her evidence did not relate to the substance of her allegations on the whole.

On the same day AGC released its statement, Thuraisingam published two Facebook posts to explain his disagreements with AGC's stance, saying in his second post that it was "unfair of AGC to only give part of the facts".

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Top images via Eugene Thuraisingam/FB & Mothership.