'Important, fair and just' to allocate resources to office providing pro bono legal aid to needy: DPM Lawrence Wong

SINGAPORE — The public funds used to pay for the newly created Public Defender's Office is "money well-spent" because it goes to an important, fair and just cause, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday (Dec 1), as he addressed concerns about the funding of such pro-bono legal schemes in Singapore.

This is because the office, which employs full-time public defenders, is structured in a way to avoid a situation where escalating costs would force the Government to make sudden and drastic cuts to funding legal representation for the needy.

"We don’t want this to happen here. But having learnt from experiences elsewhere, we believe it is possible to structure government-funded legal aid in a practical and sustainable manner," Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Public Defender’s Office at the State Courts.

Before the creation of the office, the Government has been funding about 75 per cent of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas), which is run by the legal fraternity here, he said.

This was initially done by indirect funding to the legal fraternity to provide pro-bono services to those with lower income.

The remaining 25 per cent of Clas' operating costs was supported by donations.

With the establishment of the state-funded Public Defender's Office, the move is a "major update" to Singapore's criminal justice system, Mr Wong said, noting the Government's shift from its previous principle that the state should not pay to defend accused persons, except in capital cases.

"We decided that to better serve the ends of justice, and help those who cannot afford legal representation, a Public Defenders’ Office should be established.

"To be clear, what we are doing will still require more funding from the Government. But I am happy to support the additional resources, as I believe it will be money well-spent for an important, fair and just cause," he added.

With the launch of the new office, public defenders can now provide criminal defence aid to those who face non-capital criminal charges — offences that are not punishable by death penalty — and will be available to accused persons with limited means.

This came after Parliament passed the Public Defenders Act on Aug 1 earlier this year.

Mr Wong said that the office will be fully funded by the Government and manned by full-time criminal defence lawyers hired by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw).

It will also operate independently from state counsels under the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and will make its own hiring, promotion and remuneration decisions.

“(This is so that) the public can be assured that our public defenders will provide quality and independent advice regardless of the circumstances,” Mr Wong said.

In his speech, Mr Wong noted how there were concerns arising from other jurisdictions with fully funded government legal aid schemes that have had to make sudden and drastic cuts to funding when costs escalated sharply.

The problem of "overbilling" by pro-bono lawyers in other parts of the world was also brought up by Minister for Law K Shanmugam in his statement on the establishment of the office earlier in April.

For example, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, noted that a lawyer in Ontario, Canada overbilled the state around S$160,000 between 2013 and 2016 for “travel expenses” despite his office being close to the court.

Speaking to the media at the sidelines of the opening event, Mr Shanmugam said that there are now 11 lawyers hired by the office and plans to hire two more soon”. The count includes the chief public defender.

He added that with public taxpayers paying for the running of the office, it is crucial for the overall legal system to work and to “exercise ample oversight”.

WHAT THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE DOES

Presently, Clas covers up to the 25th percentile of resident households.

With the establishment of the new office, MinLaw said that it has also expanded criminal defence aid coverage to benefit more vulnerable Singaporeans by raising the income limit to the 35th percentile of resident households eligible for pro-bono legal representation.

The scope of coverage is also widened to all types of criminal offences, with specific exceptions, MinLaw added.

These exceptions include traffic offences and minor departmental and statutory board charges, as well as 10 specific laws related to deterring specific behaviours detrimental to society, such as gambling and betting, terrorism, and organised and syndicated crime.

The Public Defender's Office will work closely with Pro Bono SG, which is helmed by the Law Society of Singapore and has been dispensing legal aid through Clas.

“Cases that are assessed to be urgent, such as remand cases where the applicant’s likely sentence would be less than his or her remand period, or cases involving minors who are turning 21 years old, will be represented by a public defender from the Public Defender’s Office,” MinLaw said.

“This is to ensure that legal representation is provided to the applicant as early as possible. The remaining eligible cases, which will form the majority of cases, will be allocated between the Public Defender’s Office and Pro Bono SG.”

The office will be headed by the newly appointed Chief Public Defender Wong Kok Weng, who was a former deputy public prosecutor in the crime division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers from 2000 to 2022.

Before that, he was a legal counsel at the Ministry of Defence from 1991 to 2000, and a magistrate at the then-Subordinate Courts from 1988 to 1991.

Delivering his remarks at the opening event, Chief Public Defender Wong said that the office will focus on building its capacity and capabilities, as well as increasing awareness of pro bono legal aid available for those who qualify for it.

Singaporeans and permanent residents may apply for government-funded criminal defence aid online at the Public Defender’s Office website, or in-person at the MinLaw Services Centre or State Courts Help Centre.

Those who seek criminal legal aid but are in remand or prison may apply through the Singapore Prison Service.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of the report quoted Law Minister K Shanmugam as saying that the Public Defender's Office has hired 11 lawyers, excluding the chief public defender. The Law Ministry clarified that the 11 officers include the chief public defender.