Lim Tean Explained

Lim Tean
Native Name Lang:zh
Office:1st Secretary-General of the Peoples Voice
Term Start:29 October 2018
Predecessor:Position established
Office1:5th Secretary-General of the
National Solidarity Party
Term Start1:30 August 2015
Term End1:18 May 2017
Predecessor1:Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss
Successor1:Spencer Ng
Birth Date:1964 11, df=y
Birth Place:Singapore
Party:Peoples Voice
(2018–present)
National Solidarity Party
(2011–2017)
Alma Mater:Hwa Chong Junior College
University of Reading (LLB)
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (LLM)
Mawards:is not set -->

Lim Tean (; born 17 November 1964) is a Singaporean lawyer and politician. He is the founder of the political party Peoples Voice and was appointed as Peoples Voice secretary-general. [1] He previously was appointed as secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party from 30 August 2015 to 18 May 2017.[2] [3] [4]

Early life

Lim was born in 1964 as the eldest son of Lim Chin Teong, a senior civil servant who served as Chief Executive Director of the People's Association (PA) between the late 1970s and early 1980s. His mother, Aw Eng Lian, was a Chinese-language teacher at Zhonghua Girls School for over 40 years. Both of Lim's parents graduated from Nanyang University, a defunct university in Singapore.[5]

At the age of seven, Lim enrolled into Montfort Junior School for his primary education but was disrupted after his father accepted a posting by the Singapore Government as First Secretary in Singapore's mission to the Soviet Union, and Lim travelled with his family to live in Moscow.[6] While in the Soviet Union, Lim attended the Anglo-American School of Moscow between 1971 and 1974.

After three years in the Soviet Union, Lim's parents became increasingly worried about the future of his children's education. They resolved for Lim's father to return to Singapore and transfer to the civil service. Consequently, Lim returned to Montfort Junior School as a Primary 4 student. He continued there and went on to attend Montfort Secondary School. After graduating from Montfort Secondary School, Lim entered Hwa Chong Junior College, where he was a student councillor. He took biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics for his A Level examinations.

After his graduation from Hwa Chong Junior College, Lim enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to complete his National Service and was commissioned as an artillery officer.

Legal career

In 1985, Lim went to England to study law at the University of Reading. He was conferred a LLB in 1988 and resided in London as a qualified barrister at the Middle Temple.[7] He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1989. He further studied a Master of Law (LLM) degree at Gonville and Cauis College at the University of Cambridge. Lim remained in Cambridge from 1989 to 1990.

After being conferred his LLM, Lim returned to Singapore and was recruited by Drew & Napier LLC in 1990. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in June 1991. At Drew and Napier, Lim became the pupil of Steven Chong, who became the Singaporean Attorney-General from 2012 to 2014. Lim joined Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP on 2 January 1998 and became its Head of the Admiralty & Shipping department in 2000. In 2007, Lim was promoted to equity partnership in Rajah and Tann.

Concurrently in 2007, Lim took a sabbatical from the legal practice to explore the business world. He founded an Indonesian mining company based out of Sulawesi.[8] His mining company became the first company to produce and ship iron-ore from the island.[9] [10] In 2017, Lim returned to Singapore and founded his law firm Carson Law Chambers.[11]

Defamation trial between Leong Sze Hian and Lee Hsien Loong

Lim represented anti-government critic and blogger Leong Sze Hian in a defamation case brought by current Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 8 December 2018.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] A cross-examination of Lee was held from 6 to 9 October 2020.[18] However the trial ended in 2 days, on 7 October, following a surprise move by Lim in arguing that there was "no case to submit" before Leong was scheduled to take the stand to be cross-examined.[19]

The trial began with the cross examination of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 6 October. It lasted for 5 hours.[19] On the second day of the trial an expert witness named Dr Phan Tuan Quang from the Hong Kong University Business School for the Plaintiff was cross examined.[20] [19] This too lasted for slightly over 5 hours and the case was closed after.[21] [20] The closing written submissions was due on 30 November 2020 and it had been agreed that these would not exceed 200 pages.[22] [23] In March 2021, the High Court ordered for Leong Sze Hian to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong $133,000, which Lim called it ‘a wrong and deeply flawed’ decision.[24]

Political career

Lim first became involved in politics in 2011 when he joined the National Solidarity Party (NSP). However, he remained relatively inactive within the party until 2015, when then Secretary-General Hazel Poa resigned in protest over the party's policy regarding multi-cornered contests.[25]

Just a week before the 2015 General Elections, NSP approached Lim and invited him to serve as their new Secretary-General. Despite the relatively short time before the election, Lim accepted and along with a team of candidates contested Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC), receiving 24.9% of the votes cast.[26] In May 2017, Lim resigned from his position, citing disagreements with the party.[27] [28] [29]

In 2018, Lim together with other opposition leaders called for an alliance of Singaporean opposition parties, with Tan Cheng Bock being proposed as its leader.[30] However, this failed to materialise.[31] The call for a similar alliance was repeated before the general elections in 2020.[32]

On 29 October 2018, Lim announced the founding of a new political party, Peoples Voice, headed by himself.[33] [34] Peoples Voice contested in the 2020 Singaporean general election for two GRCs and one Single Member Constituency (SMC), with Lim contesting Jalan Besar GRC with three other party members.[35]

Ongoing litigation proceedings

Bankruptcy applications

In September 2013, a Chinese national, Huang Min, and Lim entered into an agreement in which Huang agreed to lend US$150,000 to Lim.[36] However, their agreement was disputed over whether it was a loan or a deposit for the purchase of the iron ore mine. Lim appealed to the High Court but withdrew the appeal on 15 January 2019. A day later, he issued two cheques to settle the monies and legal costs, ahead of another hearing scheduled on 17 January 2019, and Huang withdrew the application.[37]

An article by The Straits Times published on 22 June 2020 stated that Lim is involved in two bankruptcy applications from DBS Bank and Sing Wing (I & E), a trading company, totalling about S$1.45 million.[38] A hearing for the application by Sing Wing (I & E) was scheduled on 16 July 2020, while there was no further details about DBS Bank's applications. In an interview with The Online Citizen, Lim denied the bankruptcy applications by DBS and Sing Wing, and said it was a smearing technique to damage his image by the mainstream media.[39] Lim stated that he was not contacted by The Straits Times and that he was "not going to be bankrupted" and the sum owed was "total rubbish".

Alleged criminal breach of trust and harassment charges

On 2 October 2020, Lim was arrested after he refused to cooperate with the police by not turning for a compulsory police interview scheduled on 28 September, of which could be rescheduled, and not intending to be interviewed.[40] He was suspected for alleged criminal breach of trust, in which a former client reported him for allegedly misappropriating a sum of money awarded to him as damages by the court.[41] [42] He was also suspected of unlawful stalking, in which a former female employee alleged harassment from him while being employed in his law firm. The arrest was carried out while Lim was preparing with Leong for an upcoming cross-examination of Lee in the defamation lawsuit.[43] Lim alleged that the investigations were politically motivated, which the police refuted, stating that it had a duty to investigate the allegations. Leong later posted bail for Lim.

Lim sought for a judicial review to discontinue investigations on him by the authorities, however it was dismissed by a judge on 8 December 2020, stating that the application "utterly devoid of any legal merit whatsoever".[44]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former opposition party chief Lim Tean forms new political party, People's Voice. TODAYonline. 24 December 2018. 27 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190927021518/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/former-opposition-party-chief-lim-tean-forms-new-political-party-peoples-voice. live.
  2. Web site: Yahoo Poll: Will new Peoples Voice political party be good for Singapore's Opposition?. sg.news.yahoo.com. en-SG. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180256/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/yahoo-poll-will-new-peoples-voice-political-party-good-singapores-opposition-230016707.html. live.
  3. Web site: Former National Solidarity Party chief has applied to form new political party. sg.news.yahoo.com. en-SG. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180304/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ex-nsp-chief-lim-tean-aims-form-new-party-wants-form-government-081326488.html. live.
  4. Web site: Ex-NSP leader Lim Tean says new Peoples Voice party has been officially registered. sg.news.yahoo.com. en-SG. 24 December 2018. 10 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190410120900/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/opposition-politician-lim-tean-reveals-official-formation-new-peoples-voice-party-072030703.html. live.
  5. Web site: People's Association (PA) Executive Director Lim Chin Tiong …. www.nas.gov.sg. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180307/https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/b93da805-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad. live.
  6. Web site: 24 December 2018 . Bringing Different Communities Together: The People's Association Story . www.clc.gov.sg . 20 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180307/https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/lecture-transcripts/clc-lecture-transcript-20180405-bringing-different-communites-together5b50225c73204b40ae1df99356fe5422.pdf . live .
  7. Web site: NSP chief Lim Tean quits after less than 2 years. TODAYonline. 26 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180309/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nsp-secretary-general-lim-tean-leaves-party. live.
  8. Web site: Opposition leader Lim Tean tells TODAY to do its job and bring up pressing issues faced by S'poreans. 20 December 2018. The Online Citizen. en-GB. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180322/https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2018/12/20/opposition-leader-lim-tean-tells-today-to-do-its-job-and-bring-up-pressing-issues-faced-by-sporeans/. live.
  9. Web site: Former NSP chief Lim Tean issued writ of summons over unpaid loan of US$150,000 which he disputed. Alkhatib. Shaffiq. 18 December 2018. The Straits Times. en. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180324/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/former-nsp-chief-lim-tean-issued-writ-of-summons-over-unpaid-loan-of-us150000. live.
  10. Web site: Former NSP chief Lim Tean issued writ of summons over unpaid loan. Alkhatib. Shaffiq. 19 December 2018. The New Paper. en. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180323/https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/former-nsp-chief-lim-tean-issued-writ-summons-over-unpaid-loan. live.
  11. Web site: CARSON LAW CHAMBERS – Profile, contacts and insights The Grid. 25 September 2021. sgpgrid.com.
  12. Web site: hermes. 5 December 2018. PM Lee Hsien Loong begins legal action against blogger for defamation. 13 October 2020. The Straits Times. en.
  13. Web site: Lai. Linette. 26 December 2018. Blogger Leong Sze Hian files defence and countersuit against PM Lee. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180336/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/blogger-leong-sze-hian-files-countersuit-against-pm-lee. 20 September 2020. 27 December 2018. The Straits Times. en.
  14. Web site: Stolarchuk. Jewel. BREAKING: Leong Sze Hian is suing PM Lee for "abusing the process of the court". live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180328/https://theindependent.sg/breaking-leong-sze-hian-is-suing-pm-lee-for-abusing-the-process-of-the-court/. 20 September 2020. 27 December 2018. The Independent. en-US.
  15. Web site: 26 December 2018. Funds raising for Leong Sze Hian's defence and countersuit against PM Lee; Lee Hsien Yang, one of first donors. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180333/https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2018/12/26/funds-raising-for-leong-sze-hians-defence-and-countersuit-against-pm-lee-lee-hsien-yang-one-of-first-donors/. 20 September 2020. 27 December 2018. The Online Citizen. en-GB.
  16. Web site: Blogger Leong Sze Hian files defence and counterclaim against PM Lee. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180329/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/blogger-leong-sze-hian-files-defence-and-counterclaim-against-pm-lee. 20 September 2020. 27 December 2018. TODAYonline.
  17. Web site: Blogger Leong Sze Hian files defence and counterclaim in response to PM Lee Hsien Loong's defamation suit. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181227024036/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogger-leong-sze-hian-files-defence-counterclaim-response-pm-lee-hsien-loongs-defamation-suit-110554088.html. 27 December 2018. 27 December 2018. sg.news.yahoo.com. en-SG.
  18. Web site: 31 August 2020. PM Lee to take the stand in defamation trial involving Lim Tean, Leong Sze Hian. 1 October 2020. AsiaOne. en.
  19. Web site: PM Lee v Leong Sze Hian defamation suit: Blogger declines to take stand, lawyer says there's no case to answer. 12 October 2020. CNA. en.
  20. Web site: hermesauto. 7 October 2020. PM Lee's libel suit against Leong Sze Hian: Lawyer Lim Tean questions independence, credibility of expert who says fake news spreads faster. 12 October 2020. The Straits Times. en.
  21. Web site: hermes. 8 October 2020. PM's libel hearing adjourned to Nov 30; Leong decides not to take the stand. 12 October 2020. The Straits Times. en.
  22. Web site: Kurohi. Rei. 8 October 2020. PM Lee's libel suit adjourned to Nov 30 after blogger Leong Sze Hian decides to not take witness stand. 12 October 2020. The New Paper. en.
  23. Web site: Bah. Tan Bah. Lee Hsien Loong versus Leong Sze Hian: The winner is Lim Tean. 12 October 2020. en-US.
  24. Web site: Romero. Anna Maria. Lim Tean calls High Court order for Leong Sze Hian to pay PM Lee S$133,000 'a wrong and deeply flawed' decision. 25 March 2021. en-US.
  25. Web site: NSP acting sec-gen Hazel Poa resigns, says she strongly disagrees with decision to contest MacPherson. Sim. Walter. 19 August 2015. The Straits Times. en. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180342/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/nsp-acting-sec-gen-hazel-poa-resigns-says-she-strongly-disagrees-with-decision-to-contest. live.
  26. Web site: Lim Tean announces resignation from National Solidarity Party. 22 May 2017. The Online Citizen. en-GB. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180346/https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2017/05/22/lim-tean-announces-resignation-from-national-solidarity-party/. live.
  27. Web site: NSP chief Lim Tean quits after less than 2 years. TODAYonline. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180309/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nsp-secretary-general-lim-tean-leaves-party. live.
  28. Web site: NSP sec-gen Lim Tean quits party. Cheong. Danson. 23 May 2017. The Straits Times. en. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180353/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nsp-sec-gen-lim-tean-quits-party. live.
  29. Web site: NSP gets new acting secretary-general. TODAYonline. 24 December 2018. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180345/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nsp-gets-new-acting-secretary-general. live.
  30. Web site: Yuen. Sin. 28 July 2018. 7 opposition parties discuss forming a new coalition, invite former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock to be leader. 1 October 2020. The Straits Times. en.
  31. Web site: With no Tan Cheng Bock-led alliance in sight, opposition parties turn to plan Bs. 1 October 2020. TODAYonline.
  32. Web site: Proposed alliance of smaller opposition parties to contest GE under single banner, other parties ‘can join anytime’. 1 October 2020. TODAYonline.
  33. Web site: Former opposition party chief Lim Tean forms new political party, People's Voice. TODAYonline. 13 March 2019. 27 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190927021518/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/former-opposition-party-chief-lim-tean-forms-new-political-party-peoples-voice. live.
  34. Web site: Obbana . Rajah . Is the People's Voice Party planning to contest at PM Lee's Ang Mo Kio GRC? . 23 August 2019 . theindependent.sg . 20 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180338/https://theindependent.sg/is-the-peoples-voice-party-planning-to-contest-at-pm-lees-ang-mo-kio-grc/ . live .
  35. News: Wong . Cara . 30 June 2020 . GE2020: PAP to battle it out with Peoples Voice in Jalan Besar GRC . en . 1 July 2020 . 20 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180353/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/ge2020-pap-to-battle-it-out-with-peoples-voice-in-jalan-besar-grc . live .
  36. Web site: Lum. Selina. Opposition politician Lim Tean avoids bankruptcy over $200k loan. 23 August 2019. Straits Times. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180437/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/opposition-politician-lim-tean-avoids-bankruptcy-over-200k-loan. live.
  37. Web site: Chinese businessman withdraws bankruptcy application against Lim Tean. 23 August 2019. todayonline.com. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180410/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/chinese-businessman-withdraws-bankruptcy-application-against-lim-tean. live.
  38. Web site: hermesauto. 22 June 2020. Lawyer and Peoples Voice party chief Lim Tean faces separate bankruptcy applications over nearly $1.45m. 22 June 2020. The Straits Times. en. 20 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920180418/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/lawyer-and-peoples-voice-party-chief-lim-tean-faces-separate-bankruptcy. live.
  39. Web site: 23 June 2020. PV chief Lim Tean slams mainstream media for smearing his name right before GE. 12 October 2020. The Online Citizen. en-GB.
  40. Web site: Lim Tean arrested for alleged criminal breach of trust, under investigation for alleged stalking: Police. 2 October 2020. CNA. en.
  41. Web site: Lim Tean arrested for alleged breach of trust, under investigation for alleged stalking: Police. 2 October 2020. CNA. en.
  42. Web site: Koh. Fabian. 2 October 2020. Opposition politician Lim Tean arrested for criminal breach of trust, investigated for unlawful stalking. 2 October 2020. The Straits Times. en.
  43. Web site: Lim Tean arrested for allegedly misappropriating client's money & stalking ex-staff. 2 October 2020. mothership.sg. en.
  44. Web site: 'Utterly devoid of any legal merit': Judge dismisses Lim Tean's bid to prevent police from investigating him. 9 December 2020. CNA. en.

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