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The AGC said on Wednesday that “it is only right” for the appeals to be withdrawn, and that “unnecessary costs had been incurred” due to the lawyer’s actions.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