Header Image Singapore Lawyer – Ong Ying Ping
Malaysia Now
They said Ong Ying Ping accepted payments from the family but refused to represent Pannir Selvam in a case against the government’s illegal disclosure of prisoners’ correspondence.
The family members of Pannir Selvam Pranthaman have made a desperate attempt to save his life before his execution scheduled for this Thursday in Singapore, with a hearing fixed tomorrow in connection with a scandal involving prison authorities and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
In a letter delivered today, Pannir’s sister Sangkari Pranthaman decried the silence of the Law Society of Singapore – the organisation that represents all lawyers in the city-state – over complaints against Ong Ying Ping, the lawyer who represented his brother late last year in a case involving the illegal disclosure of confidential correspondence from death row inmates.
The family claimed that Ong had visited Pannir in prison to pressure him into relieving him as his lawyer, but later lied in court that it was Pannir’s decision to release him.
The family said they had paid Ong S$7,000 or RM23,000 for his legal services.
“We are not a wealthy family and these fees have been a huge burden. We had to borrow money and fundraise to pay Pannir’s court fees.
“We paid Ong despite these difficulties because we were desperate to give Pannir the best chance he could have to live. Ong deceived Pannir, our family, and the court,” they said.
Pannir lodged a complaint with the Law Society against Ong in September last year.
It is understood the society had formed a committee to investigate the complaint, but there has been no news since even as Pannir’s execution date is approaching.
“Pannir is the complainant and material witness in this complaint. Given the nature of this complaint, if Pannir is killed, the complaint will almost certainly be dismissed because the main witness will be
unavailable,” they said.
“A lawyer who has been repeatedly accused of misconduct will be allowed to avoid accountability and sanction because the State is executing the complainants. It is in the public interest to establish if Ong has in fact harmed his clients and if so, to prevent him from further victimising other vulnerable persons seeking legal recourse,” the letter added.
Last October, Singapore’s Court of Appeal found that the AGC and the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) had breached inmates’ right to confidentiality when privileged correspondence and documents were forwarded from the SPS to AGC.
Three of the 13 appellants were awarded a paltry damage of S$10 each for copyright breaches.
Following the court ruling, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said there would be no further action.
Prominent Singapore rights lawyer M Ravi, who also represented Pannir, said the letters involved privileged communications between the inmates’ and their lawyers.
“This has certainly undermined the administration of the death penaly in Singapore and the breach is egregious under international law especially when it involved interference with solicitor and client’s privileged information,” he said on Sunday, hours after prison authorities delivered a four-day execution notice to Pannir’s family.
Twenty civil society and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called on the Malaysian government to take “immediate and decisive action” to stop the execution.
They said Pannir’s case is riddled with violations of international human rights laws, adding that the circumstances of the offence as well as his background were ignored as the death penalty for drugs was a mandatory sentence.
In 2021, then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob joined the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong in appealing to Singapore leaders to spare the life of a mentally disabled Malaysian who was sentenced to death for a drug offence. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was executed months later.
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MalaysiaNow is trying to get a response from the Prime Minister’s Department on whether a similar appeal would be submitted on behalf of Pannir.
Pannir was 26 years old when he was arrested in 2014 after being found in possession of 51.84g of heroin. He was convicted three years later.
During his time in Changi Prison, he had written two songs, joining hands with popular local names in fighting against the death penalty.
Ravi said the judge found that Pannir acted as a “courier” to import the drugs, adding that the prosecution failed to mention Pannir’s co-operation with the authorities, which led to the judge imposing the mandatory death penalty.
This lawyer has been in trouble before per
