Singapore, Jan 17 (IANS): An Indian-origin lawyer with over 25 years of experience in the field has been suspended for one year in Singapore for falsifying documents.
Some documents were not signed in her presence, but Kasturibai Manickam falsely testified in 2020 that they were signed, The Straits Times reported on Tuesday.
The Law Society of Singapore asked for Mr Manickam to be suspended for 30 months, but the three-judge tribunal said this was an example of a “serious error in judgment” rather than a character defect.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who was leading the court, said there was no dispute that the document was signed by the intended signatories.
He said Mr Manickam’s mistake was in deciding to testify that he had witnessed the signing of the document because he knew the parties and believed there would be no harm.
The court confirmed that Manickam’s suspension will take effect on March 7th.
The judges said Manikam represented two brothers, Santha Devi V. Puthenvettil Kesava Pillay, the registered owner of the apartment complex, and her brother Raman Puthenvettil Kesava Pillay. heard.
Mr Manickam’s firm, East Asia Law Corporation, represented the Pillays in several matters before the property sale.
According to reports, the Pillays had sold the apartment to two individuals in September 2020.
Manickam prepared six documents for the transaction on behalf of the brothers, all of which were signed by Santa Devi.
From September 7 to November 5, 2020, Manickam signed as a witness to Santa Devi’s signature but was not present at the signing.
Five of the documents – the transfer document, the seller’s stamp duty return and the power of attorney for the sale proceeds to be paid to the company – were sent to the law firm acting on behalf of the buyer.
Santa Devi then filed a complaint with the Law Society against Manickam, following which a disciplinary tribunal was appointed in May 2022 to look into the matter.
During the court hearing, Manickam admitted that he had signed Santa Devi’s signature as a witness, even though he had not witnessed the signature.
Senior advocate N. Sreenivasan argued on behalf of Manickam and said the lawyer was not acting in her personal interest.
He said Manickam only did so to help his elderly clients avoid traveling during the coronavirus pandemic, and that the transactions were legal. He added that there was little damage.
The court found that Mr. Manickam’s act of false certification contained elements of fraud and was grossly inappropriate conduct, and referred the case to the court for further action.
The court determined that the case was serious enough to be referred to a court with the power to suspend or disbar lawyers.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, Sreenivasan said his client would like to offer a sincere apology to the court and the profession.
The court confirmed that the suspension will take effect on March 7 to give her time to find another lawyer to take over her file.