A 70-year-old Punjab-origin lawyer has pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal breach of trust involving nearly SGD 4,59,000 and an offence under the Legal Profession Act, according to a media report on Thursday.
Deputy public prosecutor Norman Yew on Wednesday said Gurdaib Singh Pala Singh misappropriated the money between November 18 and December 23, 2014, and used it to pay for items such as office expenses for Gurdaib Cheong and Partners (GCP).
A third criminal breach of trust charge involving another SGD 21,000 will be considered during sentencing against Singh, who was called to the bar in 1981, according to a report by The Straits Times newspaper. Singh, previously a lawyer at GCP, committed the offences between 2011 and 2016. Even though he was struck off the rolls in 2018, Singh continued to act as an advocate and solicitor for a man the following year, the report said. Singh’s mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on August 24.