Disbarred lawyer Samuel Seow gets 4 weeks' jail, S$1,500 fine for assaulting and threatening 3 employees

SINGAPORE — A former entertainment lawyer was sentenced to four weeks' jail and a fine of S$1,500 on Friday (Oct 28) for physically and verbally abusing his employees, including his niece who was an associate at his law firm.

In 2018, an audio clip of Samuel Seow Theng Beng assaulting his niece in his office went viral online.

A year later, a video of the assault, which was taken from the firm’s surveillance cameras, was uploaded to YouTube.

Seow pleaded guilty in July 2020 to two criminal charges of voluntarily causing hurt to his niece and using criminal force on another employee on April 17, 2018.

The 49-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to jail for the first offence and fined the maximum amount for the second offence.

He will begin serving his jail time on Nov 3. His lawyer said that it was customary for his family to meet on All Saints' Day, which falls on Nov 1.

For his actions, Seow was also struck off the roll in May by the Court of Three Judges, which is the highest disciplinary body to deal with lawyers’ misconduct.

He is no longer allowed to practise as an advocate or a solicitor in Singapore.

At the time, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said that his misconduct showed not simply a lapse of judgement but reflected a sustained pattern of offensive conduct.

Seow, who practised law for 20 years, was managing director of Samuel Seow Law Corporation and is well-known in the entertainment scene here for representing performing artistes including former actress Michelle Saram and singer-songwriter Tanya Chua in legal cases.

He also owned and managed talent management company Beam Artistes at the time of the incident. Both firms shared the same office.

‘SIX MINUTES OF RAGE’

On Friday, Seow’s defence counsel Edmond Pereira told the court that “six minutes of rage” changed his client’s life forever.

Mr Pereira added: “His nature is such that he is a sensitive person. He puts a lot of expectations on himself and others around him.

“He expects them to be on the mark. He’s a tough master but he’s crossed the line. We cannot offer any excuse for what he did.”

The lawyer also said that Seow expressed regret and remorse for what happened. His niece recently offered to provide the court a letter of reference and said that the assaults were out of character for Seow, Mr Pereira added.

Being struck off was the harshest punishment he could have received, Mr Pereira said.

Seow was earlier found unsuitable for a mandatory treatment order — a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.

In sentencing Seow, District Judge Ronald Gwee said that the case “calls into sharp focus the relationship between an employer and employee”.

The judge told the court: “Many of us have personally experienced having an employer or boss who is overbearing, demanding, bad-tempered or any one of any negative adjectives that may be given.

“We are not talking about such persons. We are talking about situations where that employer has crossed the line and has used violence against the employee.”

District Judge Gwee also read out portions of the statement of facts in relation to Seow’s offences on April 17, 2018.

"One can perhaps opine there were several victims that time. There were other employees who witnessed, in clearer detail than any video could provide, the events that unfolded that day," the judge said.

"Naturally, it's speculation but it's human nature that some of these employees felt fear as well. Should any of their work be considered insufficient, these acts could befall them."

The judge also said that employees in situations like these "are forced to endure conditions that are not conducive to a proper work environment".

WHAT HAPPENED

Seow had grown upset with another employee, Ms Rachel Kang, because she had not finished her work and was already leaving the office.

Ms Kang, now 23, was at the time employed at Beam Artistes as an artiste and events executive, and was leaving the office that day to prepare for a company event. 

Seow “forcefully poked” her forehead twice with his finger before pushing a file that she was holding, causing her to stagger backwards, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohulabalan previously told the court.

Seow’s niece Brenda Kong witnessed the incident. 

Ms Kong, now 28, left her mobile phone on voice recording mode while walking to the photocopying machine, in case a similar incident were to happen again.

While the voice recorder was on, Seow asked aloud where an associate director of his firm was. When Seow saw Ms Kong, he repeated the question to her.

Ms Kong replied that the associate director had had a meeting outside the office earlier that day, but that she did not know where he went afterwards.

Seow got angry and asked Ms Kong why she had not responded when he had first asked about the other man’s whereabouts earlier. She replied that she did not know where he was.

Unsatisfied with her answer, Seow repeated his question as he walked towards her until he came close to Ms Kong’s face.

At this point she raised her arm across her chest to protect herself, but accidentally touched his chest.

He then shouted her name before repeatedly saying: “You beat me, you beat me, you dare to beat me.” 

He also grabbed her arm and pushed her back.

At this point, another employee intervened and held onto Seow. However, Seow broke free and slapped his niece several times on her cheeks and the top of her head.

Ms Kong then struck Seow once on his face. At one point, Seow charged towards her and pushed her against a table, causing her to fall.

Seow also struck another employee, Ms Serene Tan, on the arm when she and her fellow colleagues tried to intervene.

Ms Kong eventually managed to leave the office. She sought treatment at Parkway East Hospital for several injuries and was given three days of medical leave.

For voluntarily causing hurt to Ms Kong, Seow could have been jailed up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For using criminal force on Ms Kang, he could have been jailed up to three months or fined up to S$1,500, or both.