SINGAPORE — Despite being disbarred four years ago for professional misconduct, a former lawyer continued to provide legal advice to Chinese nationals involved in vice, and even taught one of them to delete incriminating information from his phone to avoid being investigated by the police.

Leonard Loo, 45, was on Wednesday (June 15) convicted of four counts of acting as an advocate and solicitor without being authorised, after a 24-day trial.

He also faced other charges, including one for intentionally obstructing the course of justice.

The court heard that, after being struck off, Loo started Qilin Immigration and Manpower Services Bureau, a firm registered to carry out labour contracting services in immigration and employment matters.

On Nov 20, 2013, Loo was introduced to Ms Zhao Kejing via her landlord. She had been nabbed for vice, and was told to leave Singapore within two days. Her passport was confiscated and she was given a special pass in place of it.

Her landlord passed her Loo’s contact and said that he was a lawyer. Ms Zhao met up with Loo at a bar on Nov 21 and told him that she hoped to get her passport back from the authorities without being banned from returning to Singapore.

Loo asked for more information on her arrest, including whether she was alone at the time of arrest and whether the police found condoms in her room. He then offered to file an appeal on her behalf for a fee of S$800.

The next day, Loo drafted an appeal letter in Ms Zhao’s name and brought her to the Police Cantonment Complex (PCC) to submit it. He also accompanied her to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to apply for an extension of her special pass.

Ms Zhao eventually paid Loo S$600 in all.

Another two Chinese nationals were introduced to Loo by their landlord around the same period. They had been arrested for vice on Nov 19, and were told to report to ICA two days later. Loo quoted them S$800 for drafting an appeal letter to the police and another S$800 for filing an appeal letter to ICA.

Their friend also consulted Loo after her application for an extension of her Social Visit Pass rejected, and sought advice from Loo on how to extend her stay in Singapore.

Loo also faced another charge of intentionally obstructing the course of justice, but this count will be taken into consideration for his sentencing. On Aug 17, 2014, he taught Mr Shao Wei, 27, to erase evidence from his phone and replace both the phone and SIM card to avoid being investigated by the police for vice activities in a Woodlands flat.

For providing legal advice and preparing legal representation to the police and ICA as an unauthorised person, Loo could be fined S$25,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

His case will be heard again on Aug 12.