President of S'pore Law Society calls for VP Chia Boon Teck to resign after remarks on rape case

The president of the Law Society of Singapore, Lisa Sam, has called for the resignation of the Society's vice president, Chia Boon Teck.

This comes after Chia made a LinkedIn post about the conviction of former Wah!Banana actor Lev Panfilov who was found guilty on Mar. 21 on all four charges of molesting, sexually assaulting and raping a woman he met on the dating app Tinder.

Chia questioned the victim's testimony of the rape and made several jabs at the victim.

The post has since been taken down, but screenshots have already been circulated online.

Chia's LinkedIn profile also appears to have been deactivated.

Asked to resign

In a statement on LinkedIn, Sam emphasised that the comments and views in Chai's LinkedIn post were "unacceptable" and the victim's morality should not have been questioned in such a way.

"Such comments and views are also inimical for a person in a position of leadership to espouse," she said.

"As President of the Law Society, I have asked Mr Chia Boon Teck to resign as Vice-President and Council member."

The law society website currently does not have Chia's photo up in the executive committee section.

Here's a screenshot now.

Here's a screenshot from Nov. 2024.

Remarks made

In his since-deleted post, Chia attached a picture of Panfilov's case reported on The Straits Times and highlighted certain sections of the report.

When highlighting Panfilov's charges, Chia commented: "Wow. Was she awake throughout the marathon?"

He also said that the woman was "not exactly a babe in the woods" when it was revealed the victim was a 30-year-old actress and model.

Chia also questioned how the woman's "no" progressed to Panfilov's four charges.

On the subject of Panfilov booking her ride home, Chia said: "That sounds rather like a date".

Criticised and called out

Minister for Law K Shanmugam later criticised Chia's remarks in a Facebook post and shared that he was surprised to have read them.

"Mr Chia has expressed his personal views. But he is also the Vice President of the Law Society. My concern is that some people might actually think that the views he has expressed indicate the norms in Singapore. And I worry what impact his statement may have on other victims."

Shanmugam concluded that "shaming and blaming victims step over the line. And misogyny should have no place in our society".

Several other lawyers in Singapore have also urged Chia to explain and apologise for his remarks.

One lawyer who criticised Chia's post is Stefanie Yuen Thio, the joint managing partner of TSMP Law Corporation, who invited Chia "to explain himself to the legal fraternity".

"Absent an acceptable explanation, he should step down from Council of the Law Society," said Yuen Thio in a LinkedIn post.

Lawyer Subramaniam Thirumeni also expressed shock at Chia's comments, adding that they were "not what [he] expect from any lawyer let alone an office bearer in the Law Society" and urged for an explanation.

The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) pointed out that when a senior lawyer mocks a rape victim, it is not just offensive, it's "dangerous".

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Top photo via Chia Wong Chambers/Website & Law Society of Singapore/Instagram