S'pore lawyer, 56, a repeated drink driver, struck off the rolls for lying to police over Bukit Panjang drink driving accident

A lawyer in Singapore has been struck off the rolls on Jul. 9, 2026, for lying to the police after a drink-driving accident in 2024.

At the time of the accident, Steven John Lam Kuet Keng gave two false statements to the police and claimed that someone else was at the wheel.

On Nov. 7, 2025, Lam was sentenced to eight weeks' jail and a fine of S$18,000. He was also disqualified from driving for six years.

The 56-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of giving false information to a public servant, one count of drink driving and one count of careless driving.

Disciplinary proceedings

According to The Straits Times, after Lam's conviction, the Law Society of Singapore started disciplinary proceedings against him, as was required under the Legal Profession Act for cases involving dishonesty.

The Court of Three Judges, the legal profession's highest disciplinary body that has the power to suspend or disbar, heard Lam's case on Jul. 9.

The court comprised Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hri Kumar Nair.

The Law Society, represented by William Ong, submitted that striking off, a presumptive penalty, should apply to protect the public and uphold confidence in the legal profession's integrity.

Ong said the society recognised Lam’s long record of public service, but it was of little relevance in this case.

ST reported that Lam's lawyer, senior counsel Chelva Rajah, said Lam was remorseful and had made a grave error of judgment.

Rajah also urged the court to consider Lam's volunteer work, including his running of legal clinics.

No grounds for departing from presumptive striking off

The court said there were no grounds for departing from the presumptive penalty and ordered Lam to be struck off the rolls.

The judges acknowledged that Lam did not try to avoid the consequences of his error and that he had apologised for diminishing the profession's reputation, reported ST.

The judges also noted Lam's public service contribution record and said these would be kept in mind in the future if he applied to be reinstated as a lawyer, subject to meeting other considerations.

Lam was called to the Singapore Bar in 1996, but does not currently hold a practising certificate, reported ST.

He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 2023 and was a co-founder and director of Templars Law at the time of his offences.

In December 2025, his appointment was in the process of being revoked.

Crashed into guard railings

In the early hours of Apr. 7, 2024, Lam lost control of his vehicle along Bukit Panjang Road after a drinking session at a friend's place.

He admitted consuming about four or five cans of beer before driving home.

Mothership previously reported that he lost control of his car, mounted the right curb of the road divider and crashed into nine sections of the central guard railings.

He tried to leave the scene by flagging down a taxi, but was physically restrained by witnesses.

He proceeded to lie that an unknown friend was the driver to the traffic police twice, once at the scene of the accident and at the traffic police headquarters.

The proportion of alcohol in his breath was 61mcg of alcohol in every 100ml of breath.

This exceeded the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

He was previously convicted of drink driving in 2006 as well.