SINGAPORE: A former lawyer who pretended that she could still represent clients and give legal advice was sentenced to six months’ jail on Friday (May 30).
Helen Chia Chwee Imm, 55, collected close to S$40,000 (US$31,000) in legal fees from two clients she took on without authorisation.
She earlier pleaded guilty to one charge under the Legal Profession Act for falsely claiming that she was authorised to act as a lawyer, and one count of cheating.
Two similar charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing.
Chia was called to the Bar in 1999 but did not have the required practising certificate from Dec 17, 2016, to May 30, 2018.
This was due to a bankruptcy order against her, which was annulled on May 22, 2018.
Despite not being authorised to act as a lawyer, Chia concealed this fact from a woman who engaged her over a custody battle in August 2017.
Chia gave the woman legal advice, and drafted and vetted documents for a court application related to the care and custody of the woman’s son.
She filed the court application under another lawyer’s name as she knew she was not authorised to act for the woman, and twice got another lawyer to attend court hearings in her stead.
Chia collected S$13,685.60 in legal fees and disbursements from this woman.
Another victim was Chia’s friend, who approached her for legal help in divorce proceedings around February 2018.
Chia similarly hid the fact that she was not authorised to act as a lawyer from this woman, who wanted to apply for a personal protection order.
When Chia got another lawyer to attend court mentions on her behalf, the victim voiced concerns about the lawyer’s performance as he did not seem to be familiar with her case.
However, Chia assured her friend that she and the other lawyer were working on the case together.
The victim paid Chia S$26,000 before finding out through a news article that she was a bankrupt facing disciplinary proceedings.
Chia was struck off as a lawyer on Aug 15, 2022. She has since made full restitution to the two victims.
Chia’s lawyer Nicholas Jeyaraj Narayanan had sought a fine of S$6,000 for the Legal Professions Act charge and an unspecified fine for the cheating charge.
He highlighted Chia’s mental health struggles, previously telling the court that she suffered from depression at the time due to “tragic incidents” involving her previous clients.
Chia, who specialised in family law, was acting for the mother of a boy in a care and custody case when the boy was killed by his father in October 2015.
In October 2016, she was also acting for a woman who was brutally slashed by her ex-husband, said Mr Narayanan.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay sought six to 12 months in prison, citing the effect of Chia’s actions on public confidence in the legal profession.
Ms Tay also said that Chia’s offences were deliberate and premeditated, and involved abusing the trust placed in her as the victims’ purported lawyer.
