Lawyer Samuel Seow charged with assaulting niece, using criminal force on 2 other women
SINGAPORE — Entertainment lawyer Samuel Seow Theng Beng was charged on Friday (7 June) for assaulting his niece and using criminal force on two other women last year.
The 46-year-old managing director of Samuel Seow Law Corporation and owner of Beam Artistes management firm allegedly also threatened to kill one of the women.
He purportedly committed all the offences at the law firm’s office at 79 South Bridge Road.
Seow, who is represented by Eugene Thuraisingam, did not enter a plea to one charge each of causing hurt and causing distress by using threatening words, and two counts of using criminal force.
He will be back in court next month.
Poked, grabbed, pushed and slapped
According to his charge sheets, Seow allegedly used criminal force on Rachel Kang Pei Shan by poking her forehead with his finger on 17 April last year.
About five minutes after the incident, he purportedly caused hurt to his niece Brenda Kong Shin Ying by grabbing her arms, pushing her against a table and slapping her left cheek several times.
About five minutes after that assault, he allegedly used criminal force on another woman, Serene Tan Tzuu Yen, by pushing her to the ground.
Two weeks earlier, Seow had purportedly also caused distress by using threatening words to Kang, telling her “I will take a knife and kill you”.
Audio, videos of incident posted online
Reports that Seow had allegedly assaulted two female employees, including his niece, first emerged about a year ago. A 30-minute audio recording of a quarrel between Seow and his niece also went viral online.
In April this year, two videos were uploaded online. The footage, apparently taken from a closed-circuit television camera in Seow’s office, shows the lawyer allegedly assaulting two women.
One of the videos which was uploaded on the Sure Boh Singapore Facebook Page got more than a million views and over 19,800 shares as of Friday.
In a statement issued in late April, Seow said, “Being an entrepreneur is never easy and juggling between finding the work, feeding people and paying salaries on time is a constant struggle. As someone who has three companies to manage, I do get stressed up.”
He added, “I hope to find closure with this issue soon, so I can move on with my life after my mistake from a year ago, so that the people who are constantly and conscientiously seeking to damage me can finally also, rest peacefully.”
The videos also reportedly caused a stir in the legal community, with the Law Society of Singapore saying it does not condone any form of abuse by lawyers.
If found guilty of causing hurt, Seow faces up to two years’ jail along with a fine of up to $5,000.
The punishment for using criminal force is up to three months’ jail along with a fine of up to $1,500 per charge.
The maximum penalty for causing distress by using threatening words under the Protection from Harassment Act is up to six months’ jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Related story:
Leaked videos allegedly show entertainment lawyer Samuel Seow slapping former female staff
