AGC Halts Criminal Proceedings, Issues Warning to Lawyer Who Allegedly Defamed Minister Shanmugam

In the age of social media wielding power over most of us and the way we communicate, it’s just as easy to spread fake news and rumours about others and have it reach from Pasir Ris to Jurong within the hour.

Just ask the uncles and aunties on WhatsApp – albeit sharing things with good intentions, the ‘forward’ button can prove to be a double edged sword and has become one of the most important functions on any social media. Because of this, it’s easy for any message to go viral.

And that’s why it’s important to watch what you write on social media for everyone to see, especially if you’re someone of influence speaking about prominent figures.

Criminal Proceedings Against Lawyer For Defamation Halted

Back in November 2020, Laywer Ravi Madasamy had been charged for criminal defamation by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) amidst allegations that he defamed Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in a Facebook post on the 6th.

The Facebook post in question contained writings from Mr Ravi, who claimed fellow lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam said Mr Shamugam “wields influence over Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon” and “calls the shots and controls” the chief.

Mr Ravi was then charged with criminal defamation the next month. Defamation involves purposefully wanting to harm someone’s reputation and having enough reason to believe that the defamatory statement in question would indeed harm them.

However, on Wednesday (3 Mar), the AGC has since halted all criminal proceedings against Mr Ravi and has issued a conditional warning to him instead after considering what his defence lawyers represented.

Although the AGC made a decision to withdraw the charges this week, it doesn’t mean that they’re completely letting him get away scot-free.

The AGC said that if Mr Ravi were to “breach any of the conditions to the warning, the charge against him may be revived.”

Mr Ravi is required to delete the original Facebook post that he made in addition to publishing an apology and promising not to repeat his actions again under the conditional warning.

Which he eventually did. He apologised to Mr Shamugam and saying that he now admits and acknowledges the falsehoods of the allegations he made which were without foundation.

“I have removed the statement from my Facebook page and undertake not to publish any further statements on this issue, or to make any allegations to the same or similar effect, in any manner whatsoever,” he wrote.

Other Lawyer Said It Was Fake

Mr Thuraisingam, who Mr Ravi had accused of making the defamatory comments about Mr Shamugam, wrote a letter to the Law and Home Affairs Minister the day after the defamatory post was uploaded to say that there was “absolutely no truth whatsoever” to it.

Mr Ravi was actually employed under Mr Thuraisingam for a while back in 2015, when the former was suspended from practicing law.

Mr Thuraisingam added that the same allegations had been made by Mr Ravi in June 2017, who claimed he had supporting proof which were never shown in the end. The case did not face any police action then.

An investigation against Mr Ravi’s 2020 post was announced by the police on 8 Nov, to which Mr Ravi reacted by making his own claims of defamation.

Yep, Mr Ravi wanted to sue the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and media companies Mediacorp and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for defamation against him. Saying that the investigation was based on a “stale complaint”, he demanded $250,000 in compensation for damages.

However, his lawsuits were stopped on 10 Feb.

“I unreservedly withdraw all my claims and allegations… regarding the investigations against me for criminal defamation and regarding the press/media reports and statements that were published in respect of such investigations,” Mr Ravi said in a statement, promising that he would not make similar claims and allegations ever again.

He Had Been Suspended From Duties Before

Mr Ravi currently works as a solicitor in Carson Law Chambers, and has a history of bipolar disorder with occasional depressive and manic episodes.

Because of that, he faced a suspension back in 2015 and was only allowed a conditional practicing license in 2019.

In 2018, he was also caught up in offences that included the assault of fellow lawyer and ex-colleague Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, and had to undergo 18 months of psychiatric treatment in place of jail time.

It’s best to be careful about what you spread online about others, for you just may find yourself entangled in a legal battle, too.

Feature Image: Google Maps