LawSoc orders M Ravi to stop legal practice

SINGAPORE — The Law Society of Singa­pore (LawSoc) has issued a directive for lawyer M Ravi to stop his legal practice pending a medical examination, after it received information relating to his “impaired fitness to practise” — a move that caught the lawyer by surprise.

The order was served on Mr Ravi today (Feb 10), a LawSoc spokesperson said.

Under the Legal Profession Act, the LawSoc Council has the power to direct a lawyer to stop practising in lieu of a medical examination, if it is “satisfied that a solicitor’s fitness to practise appears to have been impaired by reason of the solicitor’s physical or mental condition”.

The lawyer has to comply or challenge the decision before a judge.

Mr Ravi had reportedly been diagnosed since 2006 with bipolar disorder — which is punctuated by episodes of mania and depression — and was suspended from practising for a year in 2006.

When contacted today, Mr Ravi said he previously saw his doctor last Monday and he was not certified unfit for practice. He added that he had submitted his monthly medical report two weeks ago stating that he is well and that he also successfully argued a magistrates’ appeal a few days ago.

“My doctor has not certified me unfit for practice, therefore this comes as a surprise,” said Mr Ravi, in a text message. “I’m consulting my psychiatrist today and will sort this out.”

In recent weeks, Mr Ravi’s behaviour has raised eyebrows. Last week, he declared in a hastily-called press conference that he will contest the next General Election in Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency, adding that he aspires to become the Prime Minister one day.

In a 5-minute video posted last Saturday, he also went on a tirade against blogger Roy Ngerng, whom he represented when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sued him for defamation.

This is not the first time that LawSoc has weighed in on Mr Ravi’s fitness to practise. In 2012, a LawSoc representative showed up uninvited to interject a court hearing Mr Ravi was acting in, with a medical letter from the lawyer’s doctors stating that he was unfit to practise law at that time.

Mr Ravi was subsequently certified by a psychiatrist to be fit to practise, subject to him taking medication on a “more strictly supervised basis” and more constant monitoring of his condition. He also sued LawSoc for defamation although he dropped the suit eventually.

Meanwhile, a woman who identified herself as Ms R Angelina, represented by Mr Ravi, filed an application last Thursday challenging the constitutionality of guidelines prohibiting the use of musical instruments at the Thaipusam procession, among other things.

In response to media queries, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it has filed an application to strike out her case “on the grounds that it discloses no reasonable cause of action, is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious, and is an abuse of process”.

CORRECTION: "In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the woman who alleged that the police hit her during the Thaipusam procession also filed a court application related to Thaipusam. This is incorrect. The application was filed by another woman unrelated to any of the three men arrested that day. We apologise for the error.