Law Society looking into lawyer Edmund Wong’s ‘unacceptable’ conduct in court
The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) is looking into the conduct of lawyer Edmund Wong Sin Yee during a hearing into a molest case.
The move comes after Wong, who was defending a student from China facing one molest charge, was criticised by the presiding judge for focusing on the victim’s breast size during the hearing on Thursday (4 August).
“Based on what was set out in the judgment, this is unacceptable. We are looking into it,” said LawSoc President Thio Shen Yi on Friday (5 August), in response to queries from Yahoo Singapore about Wong’s conduct.
According to media reports, Wong had asked the 22-year-old victim to stand up, and questioned her about her breast size during his cross-examination of the victim at the State Courts.
When questioned by District Judge Shawn Ho why Wong had to ask the victim to do so, the lawyer said he wanted to see how “attractive the victim is when she stands up”. The victim protested and asked if it was necessary for her to do so.
Calling Wong’s conduct “needlessly offensive”, DJ Ho criticised the lawyer for wanting to know whether the victim has a “very voluptuous breast protruding out”.
Wong’s client, 24-year-old Xu Jiadong, was found guilty of brushing his forearm against the victim’s breast while on a train in July 2014. He was sentenced to five months’ jail.
Six pages of the 44-page judgment by DJ Ho focused on Wong’s conduct, calling it “indecent”, “scandalous” and “forbidden in court” under the Evidence Act.
Media reports also pointed out that Wong, who runs his own firm S. Y. Wong Law Chambers, had been sentenced to jail previously over several criminal charges.
The former marketing manager, who became a lawyer in 1998, was given a three-month jail term and fined $2,000 for road rage in 2001.
Wong appealed against the sentence, which was later increased to the maximum of one year’s jail by then Chief Justice Yong Pung How. He was barred from practice for two years in 2003 by the Court of Three Judges due to the conviction.
The lawyer was also arrested in 2005 on suspicion of being involved in a ketamine trafficking syndicate overseas. He was held under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act and was later given a four-month jail sentence.
