Singapore human rights lawyer M Ravi charged with defaming law minister K Shanmugam
- The lawyer claimed in a Facebook post in November that another lawyer said Shanmugam ‘wields influence over’ Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon
- Ravi, who represents a number of death-row inmates, faces up to two years in jail. He also launched legal action, seeking over US$187,000 in damages
Ravi had claimed in the November 6 post that fellow lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who briefly employed Ravi when he was suspended from practising law in 2015, had said Shanmugam “wields influence over Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon”.
He further alleged that Thuraisingam had also said Shanmugam “calls the shot and controls (sic) Sundaresh Menon”.
Ravi, 51, faces one count of criminal defamation. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.
Thuraisingam wrote to Shanmugam on the same day Ravi’s Facebook post was published, stating that “there is absolutely no truth whatsoever” to the allegations. He said Ravi had made the same allegations in June 2017, adding that the other lawyer never produced any supporting “records” that he claimed to have. No police action was taken at the time.
