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Law Society disciplinary hearing: Pritam Singh struck off rolls
He was also ordered to pay S$5,808 in legal costs to the Law Society.
Photo by Rafael See Toh/Mothership
Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has been struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors following his conviction for lying under oath.
This comes after his disciplinary case hearing on Aug. 13, where the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) sought to get him disbarred.
Singh was previously convicted in February 2025 on two counts of lying under oath to the Committee of Privileges in the Raeesah Khan case.
Singh later lost his appeal in December 2025 and eventually paid a S$14,000 fine.
The short 20-minute hearing on Thursday concluded with the lawyers on both sides discussing the costs and disbursements for the case.
The LawSoc had called for S$6,000 in costs, but would be content with the S$3,000 suggested by Singh's lawyers, according to the society's lawyers.
Singh will pay a total of S$5,808.
Singh, an opposition politician, is a lawyer by profession, though he is currently non-practising.
Threshold not met
In court, both the LawSoc and Singh agreed that the legal threshold to avoid a strike-off in a case involving dishonesty is a high one, and that it is not met.
The LawSoc, represented by Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull from Drew & Napier, argued that in Singh’s case, there are no exceptional circumstances that mitigate a strike-off.
Bull highlighted that Singh’s public roles, as a Member of Parliament (MP) and Leader of the Opposition at the time of the offence, were not such exceptional circumstances. Instead, they aggravate the negative impact of his conduct.
He submitted to the court that Singh should be treated the same as other lawyers, and be struck off the rolls.
Representing Singh, Senior Counsel Chelva Retnam Rajah said Singh does not dispute that dishonesty was an essential element of the offence he had been convicted of.
He added that Singh wanted to say, he always tries his best to act in good faith and sincerity, and will continue to strive to do so in whatever capacity that he has.
After a short break where the three judges huddled together in discussion, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon delivered the verdict, ordering that Singh be struck off the rolls.
As Singh exited the courtroom, he told the media he had no comment, and repeated this outside the Supreme Court.
Court of Three Judges
The case was presided over by the Court of Three Judges comprising Chief Justice Menon, alongside Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice See Kee Oon.
The Court of Three Judges is the legal profession's highest disciplinary tribunal.
It has the power to suspend lawyers from practice or have them struck off the rolls of advocates and solicitors.
LawSoc is represented by lawyers from Drew & Napier, including Bull, who is also its chief executive officer.
Singh is represented by lawyers from Peter Low Chambers, including Peter Cuthbert Low and Chelva as the instructed counsel.
What the law says
LawSoc said in March 2026 that it initiated disciplinary proceedings against Singh as required under the Legal Profession Act, following his court conviction, CNA reported.
It said it had done so based on information received from the Attorney-General's Chambers that Singh had been convicted of offences involving "fraud or dishonesty", according to The Straits Times.
Section 94A of the Legal Profession Act stipulates that LawSoc must, without further direction, initiate disciplinary proceedings where a regulated legal practitioner has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty.
The legal practitioner may be struck off the rolls.
They may also be suspended from practice for up to five years, fined up to S$100,000 or be censured.
Notable figures in Singapore who have been struck off the rolls include Charles Yeo, and the late M Ravi, while Lim Tean has also been called by LawSoc to be struck off.
