Lim Tean arrested after being handed over to Singapore police by Malaysian authorities
The lawyer was arrested in Malaysia last week and handed over to Singapore on Tuesday (Aug 11) after failing to surrender to the Singapore courts to begin serving his jail term.
Police officers escorting Lim Tean on Aug 11, 2026. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)
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SINGAPORE: Lawyer Lim Tean has been arrested in Singapore after being handed over by Malaysian authorities on Tuesday (Aug 11), following his arrest in Johor Bahru last week for failing to surrender to the courts to begin serving a jail term.
The 61-year-old was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) on Aug 6 and handed over to the Singapore Police Force (SFP) on Tuesday, the police said in a media release.
Lim had been ordered to surrender to the State Courts on Aug 3 to begin serving a jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate.
He failed to do so and left Singapore illegally while on court bail. A warrant of arrest was issued against him on the same day.
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“Investigations into the circumstances of his illegal departure are ongoing,” the police said.
Two Singaporean men have already been charged in connection with his alleged escape.
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Lim was convicted in July 2024 for practising as a lawyer for about two months in 2021 when he did not have a valid certificate. He had attended court hearings on behalf of clients on 32 occasions during the period when he did not have a valid practising certificate.
The District Court sentenced him in February 2025 to six weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 fine.
The High Court later increased his sentence to three months and one week’s jail on Feb 23 after a judge agreed with the prosecution that it was “manifestly inadequate”.
Lim was declared bankrupt in April. In the same month, he was also fined S$30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client’s money.
Lim is the founder of Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People’s Alliance for Reform, an alliance of opposition parties.
At the 2025 General Election, he contested Potong Pasir SMC in a three-way fight and came third behind the People’s Action Party’s Alex Yeo and Singapore People’s Party candidate Williamson Lee.
“The police are resolved to pursue and bring to justice those who commit crimes in Singapore, regardless of where they flee to,” SPF’s Commercial Affairs Department director Peggy Pao said on Tuesday.
“We will continue to work closely with our wide network of overseas law enforcement partners to locate, arrest and secure the return of criminals to face justice in Singapore. I would like to thank the RMP for their prompt assistance in this case.”
Source: CNA/dy(gs)
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