On Thursday (13 Aug), the Law Society (LawSoc) said it would seek to disbar veteran lawyer Lee Suet Fern for her handling of the late Lee Kuan Yew’s final will.
This has raised many questions, such as:
Wait, who is Lee Suet Fern?
What does it mean to disbar someone?
When can we travel again?
While I can’t answer the last question just yet, here’s a lengthy answer to the first two.
Allegedly Misled Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Suet Fern is a veteran lawyer who has been practising for over 37 years and is listed online as a director at Morgan Lewis Stamford, according to CNA.
She is the wife of Lee Kuan Yew’s son Lee Hsien Yang, and sister-in-law to our current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
Before Lee Kuan Yew passed away, he had drafted a total of seven wills, the first six of which were prepared by his lawyer Kwa Kim Li.
Mr Lee had also reportedly asked for his first will to be used as his final will.
However, Suet Fern allegedly created a draft will, which became Mr Lee’s seventh and final will, without the involvement of Kwa, who was away at the time.
Nevertheless, his last will was allegedly prepared and executed in December 2013 by Suet Fern.
According to CNA, his last will differed from his sixth will in two main ways:
- it restored the equal shares of Lee Kuan Yew’s estate among his three children
- it reintroduced the clause asking for Mr Lee’s house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished
Back in February, a disciplinary tribunal had found Suet Fern guilty of grossly improper professional conduct in the preparation of Mr Lee’s will, citing three reasons:
- That she made Mr Lee sign the will “urgently” without the presence or involvement of his lawyer, Kwa Kim Li
- That she breached a rule which prohibits lawyers from preparing a will when a family member of the lawyer (in this case, her husband) is going to get a significant gift under the will
- That she misled Mr Lee on the terms of the will – his final will included a clause on the demolition of his house, which was included in previous wills but removed subsequently
The disciplinary tribunal alleged that Suet Fern sent Mr Lee a will which she claimed was his first will. As previously mentioned, Mr Lee reportedly asked for his first will to be his used as his final will.
However, Suet Fern is accused of drafting another will and telling Mr Lee that it was his first will – which was drafted by Kwa, his lawyer.
Now, the Law Society is seeking to disbar Suet Fern for her handling of Mr Lee’s will. This means that they intend to expel her from the Bar so that she no longer has the right to practise law.
Suet Fern’s Defence
Suet Fern and her defence team presented a very different account of events in court.
Her lawyers argued that she had simply forwarded a copy of Mr Lee’s first will which she had obtained from her husband Lee Hsien Yang.
They say she was not involved in handling the will, which means she did not act as his lawyer, and thus did not breach any rules.
Suet Fern’s lawyers have asked the court to drop all the charges against her, arguing Mr Lee knew what he was doing.
“Highly Improbable That Mr Lee Was Tricked”
Former Attorney-General Walter Woon, who is one of Suet Fern’s lawyers, argues that there should be no sanctions.
“(Even if there’s a) technical breach … it still goes back to the question, in that case, is there any meaningful sanction? MM (Mr Lee) was himself a lawyer. He was a brilliant lawyer. A will is not a complex document. He read it, he understood it.”
Woon’s argument is that Mr Lee was not the frail, doddering old man that the tribunal has made him out to be, and that he knew exactly what he was doing when he signed his final will.
“It’s quite clear MM knew what he was doing”, he said, adding that it was “improbable in the extreme” that Mr Lee was tricked by Suet Fern and her husband.
“He read the will, he signed the will, initialled on every page, called for it the following day, told his personal assistant to send it to (Ms Kwa) and tell her it’s the agreement among the siblings”, he said.
The disciplinary tribunal, though, has found both Suet Fern and her husband Lee to be “deceitful” witnesses.
The Court of Three Judges, which is a disciplinary body that deals with lawyers’ misconduct, heard arguments from both sides for five hours on Thursday.
They will announce their decision at a later date.
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
