A 66-year-old gardener's legal case for S$1,000 monthly maintenance support from his five children was thrown out of court by the Tribunal for Maintenance of Parents. The man's family never received any money from him because he splurged all his money on his girlfriends. His wife said that when their first child was born, he did not give her a cent to buy milk powder and food. (Straits Times 21 Dec 2002) (H1)

  A man was yesterday charged with sending 18 false e-mail messages - attacking former Fateha head Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff - to newspapers between 2 Jan and 24 May this year. The sender, Jerome CHOK Kok Onn, 38, a former bank officer, allegedly signed off as LEE Chay Pian, 60, a former colleague. This is believed to be the first such case here under the Telecommunication Act. (Straits Times 21 Dec 2002) (H2)

  Giving his reasons for using a rarely invoked legal clause to jail Gilbert Louis, 51, for 10 years, Chief Justice YONG Pung How said, "We are dealing with a man whose contemptuous conduct had outraged the dignity of our courts. He was lucky to escape caning only because of his age." Gilbert repeatedly punched his wife's lawyer, Madam Halijah Mohamad, in a family court judge's chamber on 1 Feb 2002. (Straits Times 17 Dec 2002) (3)

Leading local law firm WongPartnership will tie up with the world's largest law practice, Clifford Chance, to launch a joint venture called Clifford Chance Wong on 1 Jan 2003. (Straits Times 29 Nov 2002) (H10)

  The man who repeatedly punched his former wife's lawyer in a family court judge's chamber on 1 Feb 2002 had his jail sentence increased from six years to 10 years by Chief Justice YONG Pung How in the Court of Appeals yesterday. Former acting-school owner Gilbert Louis, 51, has no further avenues of appeal. (Straits Times 6 Nov 2002) (6)

  Teenage girls outnumber boys in the use of ketamine, a synthetic drug. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested 15 girls aged 15 - 19 in 2001, compared to 13 boys in that age group. At least three young ketamine users have committed suicide this year. In statistics released by the CNB yesterday, the number of first-time ketamine abusers arrested in the first half of this year was 52 per cent higher than the same period last year. The number held for Ecstasy dipped by 6 per cent. The number of people arrested for abusing methamphetamine in the first half of this year has tripled, compared to the same period last year. The number jumped from 83 to 255. (Straits Times 6 Nov 2002) (3)

  Only four lawyers have dipped into a fund set up by the Law Society in 1999 to help lawyers during the economic downturn. It provides financial assistance of up to S$20,000 for lawyers and their families in dire financial straits. Those with problems in their professional or personal life can also get counselling from a scheme called Law Care. The society picks up the tab for the fees incurred. (Straits Times 23 Sep 2002) (H4)

  Lawyer Colin Caines, 43, who has been a practising lawyer for 18 years, was yesterday jailed for four years for pocketing S$213,000 of his clients' money. He is likely to be disbarred because of his conviction, said his lawyer Subhas Anandan. (Straits Times 3 Sep 2002) (H4)

  A survey by the Subordinate Courts in 2001 found that almost one in 10 people who took out a personal protection order (PPO) faced physical abuse less than one month after the order was made. More than a quarter of applicants were threatened, more than a quarter were harrassed, and almost 14 per cent were stalked over the same period. Alcohol was at the root of the problem in one in three cases, followed by chronic gambling and emotional instability. The survey led to the setting up of Project Save - a treatment programme for alcoholics - in April 2002. (Straits Times 14 Jul 2002) (25)

  A lawyer who told a female airport officer that he had a gun at his groin area and behaved in a disorderly manner at the Changi Airport on Sept 18, 2001 was fined S$3,000 yesterday. Though Peter PANG Xiang Zhong, 55, could have been jailed, he was fined the maximum amount for the two charges he faced. (Straits Times 26 Jun 2002) (H7)

  The Court of Appeals here has ruled that sting operations, which law enforcement agencies use to trap criminals by luring them into the open, are an effective way to combat crime and are lawful. Chief Justice YONG Pung How said, "It is a central thesis of our criminal law that a person who voluntarily, and with all the necessary intent, commits all of the elements of a criminal offence is guilty of of that offence, regardless of whether he was induced to act." (Straits Times 10 Jun 2002) (4)

  The growing popularity of club drugs among youths is a worrying problem that must not be left unchecked, said Chief Justice YONG Pung How last month when he upheld an 18-month jail term for Johnson Cheng Siah, 28, who was caught taking ketamine at a club. Ketamine offences have risen by 24 per cent and the number of people caught possessing or trafficking the drug increased to 207 in 2001 from 167 in 2000. More than 70 per cent of those arrested were new abusers. More than half, or 55 per cent, were younger than 25. And more than a third were aged between 20 and 24. (Straits Times 31 May 2002) (H3)

  In a landmark ruling, Chief Justice YONG Pung How said those who use violence to terrorise their wives and children can expect to receive very stiff jail sentences, to stop the "deplorable increase" in the number of such cases. In a recent case involving a man who had beaten and threatened to kill his wife, CJ YONG upped the jail term from four months to three years. (Straits Times 20 May 2002) (4)

  People who are convicted of minor offences may have their criminal records sealed or deleted after a certain number of years, provided they do not commit offences again. This will make it easier for them to get work. Senior Minister for Law and Home Affairs Associate Professor HO Peng Kee said that the Home Affairs Ministry was studying the issue and would come up with firm plans within a month or two. (Straits Times 14 May 2002) (H4)

  The Court of Appeal has upheld the principle that a judge cannot find a doctor negligent if what the doctor did is supported by his peers. Chief Justice YONG Pung How said that the court should have no business vindicating or vilifying the actions of medical practitioners. "We often enough tell doctors not to play God; it seems only fair that, similarly, lawyers should not play at being doctors," he said. CJ YONG added, "A judge, unschooled and unskilled in the art of medicine, has no business adjudicating matters over which medical experts themselves cannot come to agreement."  (Straits Times 14 May 2002) (6)

  In the 12 months since the Legal Aid Bureau relaxed its qualifying criteria, it has handled more 8,089 new cases, or about 1,000 more than the 7,028 new cases for the financial year 2000 - from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001. Of these, one in two needed help on family matters, such as divorce, maintenance and custody of children. And 28 per cent approached the bureau to help sort out the paper work on accidents and bankruptcies. To qualify for legal aid, the applicant's disposable household income should not be more than S$10,000 a year, up from its previous ceiling of S$7,000, among other changes. (Straits Times 13 May 2002) (H3)

  Of the more than 3,520 practising lawyers, only 3,200 have renewed their practising certificates for the next year by the deadline yesterday. Some 320 lawyers have dropped out and only about 200 new lawyers are expected to enter the market this year. Anecdotal evidence has shown that many of the lawyers exiting the profession are under 30. Last year was the first time in five years that the legal profession here had shrunk. Law Society figures show a 0.4-per-cent drop in the number of practising lawyers compared with a year earlier. A record 335 lawyers had not renewed their practising certificates, compared with 141 lawyers in 2000 and 114 in 1999. (Straits Times 1 May 2002) (H4)

  The new Supreme Court complex, on the site of the former Colombo Building, will be ready in 2005. Designed by British architect Norman Foster and his team from Foster & Partners, the complex will house 27 courtrooms and be linked to the existing Supreme Court by an underground tunnel. (Straits Times 22 Apr 2002) (3)

  Three large law firms here have decided to cut starting salaries from S$4,200 to S$3,500 a month - even lower than the S$3,700 to S$3,800 they paid before a raise last year. Allen & Gledhill, Drew & Napier and Rajah & Tann confirmed the move. (Straits Times 17 Apr 2002) (H3)

  A coffeeshop owner became the second person this month to be jailed for tax evasion. LIM Jow Min, 47, was sentenced to two weeks' jail for evading about S$37,000 in taxes in 1999. He was ordered to pay a penalty of S$114,855, treble the amount of tax he should have paid. (Straits Times 16 Apr 2002) (H2)

  The workings of the Internal Security Act (ISA), which has been part of Singapore laws since 1955 under its old form, the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, will be compiled in a new book for public distribution later this year, said Home Affairs Minister WONG Kan Seng on Friday. (Straits Times 14 Apr 2002) (25)

  The courts in Singapore will introduce an Internet-based video-conferencing system next month that will allow lawyers to present their cases from the comfort of their offices instead of going to court. Three prisons have also been equipped with the system, which will save prosecutors a trip to jail to interview their clients. The time saved in travelling and waiting is estimated to be more than S$20 million a year, said a statement from the Subordinate Courts yesterday. (Straits Times 12 Apr 2002) (H6)

  Former Singapore General Hospital (SGH) clerk Eileen YONG Yuet Mei, a housewife, was sentenced to one year's jail yesterday for trying to scare her ex-colleague by sending her white talcum powder in a letter last year. YONG's claim that she did not know anything about the Sept 11 terrorist attacks or the anthrax scare in the US was rejected by the court. She is the first person to be convicted of criminal intimidation through an anonymous communication which carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine.(Straits Times 12 Apr 2002) 

  Stiffer laws to govern the sale of vitamins and health supplements will be introduced by the end of this year. Currently, the Medicines Act can punish anyone who advertises or markets health supplements with specific medical claims, such as "helps prevent diabetes", with a fine not exceeding S$5,000, jail for one year, or both. (Straits Times 10 Apr 2002) (H1)

  The Fair Trading Act is expected to be ready within 15 months. Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) president YEO Guat Kwang said Case and the Trade and Industry Ministry (MTI) are in the "final stages of having the Act in place." He said the Act would, in principle, guard both merchants and consumers. (Straits Times 4 Apr 2002) (H1)

  A police officer who pulled his gun on two supermarket employees after being caught shoplifting on May 20 last year was yesterday sentenced to more than six years' jail. Station Inspector LIM Kok Thai, 43, is appealing against the conviction and sentence and has been allowed bail. (STraits Times 23 Mar 2002) (H6)

  The Law Society has launched today a fast-track method of settling disagreements between client and lawyer or between opposing parties. Parties that cannot agree on legal costs can get help from 23 mediators and arbitrators, who are all experienced lawyers. The parties pay a flat fee of S$500 to S$800, depending on whether it involves a High Court, district court or magistrate's court matter. If the disagreement is between a lawyer and client, the fee will be between S$500 and S$1,250, depending on the legal costs being claimed. (Straits Times 15 Mar 2002) (4)

  The revamped Subordinate Courts website at www.subcourts.gov.sg has online maps, complete with moving footsteps, to show the location of every courtroom in the courts. There are also step-by-step guides on, for example, how to apply for a divorce or resolve a civil dispute. Lawyers can also check the lists of scheduled hearings in every court, as the information has been put online. (Straits Times 5 Mar 2002) (H6)

  Employers who make their maids' lives hell by subjecting them to mental as well as physical abuse will be punished severely. The High Court has ruled that a combination of both types of abuse warrants a harsher punishment than that for physical abuse alone. (Straits Times 4 Mar 2002) (4) 

  Justice L.P. THEAN will retire on Sunday after 18 years on the Supreme Court bench. In a statement yesterday, the Supreme Court said that the judge had been reappointed twice since 1998 when he turned 65, the statutory age of retirement. Justice THEAN will join Khattar Wong, one of the five largest law practices in Singapore, as a consultant from 1 Mar 2002. (Straits Times 19 Feb 2002)(H3)

  A new specialist court, named Admiralty Court, at the Supreme Court, starts operating today. It will hear maritime cases as part of a strategy to boost Singapore's position as the leading port in the Asia Pacific. Previously, such cases were heard by various High Court judges on an ad hoc basis. (Straits Times 4 Feb 2002)(4)

  Senior Counsel Belinda ANG Saw Ean, 47, has been appointed a judicial commissioner. With her appointment, there are now 15 judges in both the Court of Appeal and the High Court. (Straits Times 2 Feb 2002)(H4)

  Data from the family Court showed about 3,000 complaints were filed for family violence in 2001, compared with 2,861 for 2000. (Straits Times 28 Jan 2002) (H8)

   London: Lawyers are to be allowed to operate from supermarkets in the same way as dry cleaners or pharmacies under radical reforms covering the legal profession, The Telegraph reported. House buyers will also be able to use the services of lawyers employed directly by estate agents and avoid the need to go to a legal firm for their paper work. The Law Society, the solicitors' governing body, is to implement the radical reforms by September. (Straits Times 22 Jan 2002) (7)