Lawyer pays
costs to AGC for launching 'frivolous appeals'
SINGAPORE: A lawyer has paid costs of S$1,000 to the
Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), after he launched four
“frivolous appeals … devoid of any merit” - appeals which lawyer S
K Kumar subsequently withdrew on Wednesday (Mar 2).
The AGC called Mr Kumar’s appeals against the three-week jail
terms imposed on four of his clients “an abuse of process”, since
three weeks’ jail was what the lawyer had urged the court to impose
in the first place.
Despite the court imposing the exact sentence Mr Kumar had
suggested, he launched an appeal to convince the High Court that
the sentence was manifestly excessive.
The AGC said on Wednesday that “it is only right” for the
appeals to be withdrawn, and that “unnecessary costs had been
incurred” due to the lawyer’s actions. This is why the prosecution
decided to seek costs against him, which he offered to pay, the
court heard on Wednesday.
The four accused persons Mr Kumar represented are Bangladeshi
construction workers Shahadat Omar Ali Deowan, Jahid Hossain Md
Amir Hossain, Abu Taher Md Shahbuddin and Mahmudul Hasan Almas
Bepari. The quartet, aged between 22 and 27, had been charged with
assaulting a colleague in April 2014 over a minor work-related
dispute.
The S$1,000 will be donated to the Law Society of Singapore’s
Pro Bono Services, which administers the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme
(CLAS), the AGC said. This is the first time that the AGC has
donated costs sought to CLAS.
This case is only the second time in its history that the AGC
has sought costs from a lawyer. Lawyer M Ravi was ordered to pay
costs of S$1,000 in 2014 after launching a bid to have the criminal
charges against five men involved in the 2013 Little India riot
quashed.
The AGC stated on Wednesday that it will not hesitate to seek
costs personally from lawyers who file “frivolous appeals” which
“disrupts the administration of criminal justice”.
- CNA/av