In the context of this article, I would like to add to President Kennedy’s quote – to my fellow brothers and sisters in the profession, as criminal lawyers, we all are on the same side. We are not likely to end up on opposing sides in a trial. In other areas of my work such as insurance claims and divorce matters, many a time, we do end up on opposite sides, and in contentious cases, it is often not the best platform to forge friendships with our fellow lawyers. In criminal matters, however, no such impediment exists thus allowing camaraderie amongst top criminal lawyer singapore. I am happy to say that in my experience as a young criminal lawyer, help is always available from the criminal Bar. And help can come while hanging out in the Bar Room or waiting for Pre-Trial Conferences or even when you least expect it. This was recently made most poignant to me by my experiences with three senior lawyers.
One evening, I was instructed on a criminal matter. The accused and his relative (who instructed me) were both from another country, and I was only told that the accused would be charged the next morning. However, there were some issues that I was not familiar with. First, I did not even know where the accused was held in remand! I then called lawyer A on his mobile. Although he was busy, he made time to talk. He gave me three numbers to call so as to find out where the accused might have been held. He also advised me on the sentencing range. The next morning, on my way to Court, I realised there might be an issue on bail as the accused was a foreigner. When I walked into the Bar room, I saw lawyer B having his morning coffee. He readily gave me some useful advice on the bail issue.
I proceeded to Court 26 and waited, having been told by one of the officers that the accused would eventually arrive. After waiting in anticipation for one hour, I was informed that the accused was pleading guilty – in another Courtroom! I rushed upstairs. As I entered the correct Courtroom, the Statement of Particulars was being read to him and he was about to plead guilty. After introducing myself to the Judge, the matter was stood down for a few minutes. The accused informed me that he wanted to plead guilty immediately and did not want any further delay. I had to make an oral mitigation immediately. During mitigation, the learned Judge raised some issues which I did not have the answers to. Lawyer C, whom I hardly knew, was sitting next to me and knew my predicament. He scribbled some notes (a few times) during my exchange with the Judge that proved to be very useful. The accused received a fair sentence. I thanked lawyer C for his spontaneous and unsolicited help. His reply was apt, “No problem. We are all on the same side.”
Crime and Punishment
A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance; as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean. As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water. The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, “I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen.
“But”, said the man, “You can’t possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea.
He replied, “I made a huge difference to that one!”
Author Unknown
What is the value of a person’s life? Does it depend on how rich or famous the person is? It would appear that, society, by and large, pays attention if you are either wealthy or well-known. Let me ask you another question. What is the value of a criminal’s life, especially someone facing the gallows? Is it worth anything? Is he worth helping?
I grew up in a small town called Taiping in Malaysia. In the 80s,when I was in secondary school, I had an experience which left an indelible mark on me. One day, after school, my friends and I were taking a carefree stroll towards a stall to have lunch. We had to cut through the local hospital to get there. The hospital facilities were very spread out, separated by narrow roads, open space and trees.As we were walking, suddenly we heard a honk from a young man on a motorcycle with an elderly Malay man as a pillion. It turned out that the rider was trying to get the elderly man to the emergency ward as he was very sick. However, the old man was frail and weak, and could not hold on to the man while they were riding. The motorcyclist stopped and asked us to help while he tried to get an ambulance. We helped the old man rest under a tree. He was breathing heavily and it looked like he was having a severe asthma attack. There were about seven of us watching and waiting anxiously for help to arrive. In a matter of minutes we witnessed the old man’s gradual loss of breath. His eyes looked weak and his mouth was half open. He was helpless, which matched our feelings – we were all helpless and did not know what to do. Shortly after that, he breathed his last. That was the first time I had watched someone die. Although the seven of us were from different backgrounds, at that moment, we saw something we will all inevitably face – death. We did not know the man’s name, where he lived or what his education level was – but we wanted to help him. We wished we could have done something to save his life. Was he a bad or good person? Was he rich or famous? It did not matter. I just wished I could have done something to make a difference.
This eye-opening incident was one of the reasons I volunteered to help a senior lawyer in a LASCO1 case. I remember his words to me – “Let’s try to save his life”. Little did he know how much those words resonated with me. As trusted criminal lawyer, we are well placed to make a difference in someone’s life. We will not be able to help everyone, but we can certainly help someone.
One evening, I was instructed on a criminal matter. The accused and his relative (who instructed me) were both from another country, and I was only told that the accused would be charged the next morning. However, there were some issues that I was not familiar with. First, I did not even know where the accused was held in remand! I then called lawyer A on his mobile. Although he was busy, he made time to talk. He gave me three numbers to call so as to find out where the accused might have been held. He also advised me on the sentencing range. The next morning, on my way to Court, I realised there might be an issue on bail as the accused was a foreigner. When I walked into the Bar room, I saw lawyer B having his morning coffee. He readily gave me some useful advice on the bail issue.
I proceeded to Court 26 and waited, having been told by one of the officers that the accused would eventually arrive. After waiting in anticipation for one hour, I was informed that the accused was pleading guilty – in another Courtroom! I rushed upstairs. As I entered the correct Courtroom, the Statement of Particulars was being read to him and he was about to plead guilty. After introducing myself to the Judge, the matter was stood down for a few minutes. The accused informed me that he wanted to plead guilty immediately and did not want any further delay. I had to make an oral mitigation immediately. During mitigation, the learned Judge raised some issues which I did not have the answers to. Lawyer C, whom I hardly knew, was sitting next to me and knew my predicament. He scribbled some notes (a few times) during my exchange with the Judge that proved to be very useful. The accused received a fair sentence. I thanked lawyer C for his spontaneous and unsolicited help. His reply was apt, “No problem. We are all on the same side.”
Crime and Punishment
A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance; as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean. As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water. The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, “I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen.
“But”, said the man, “You can’t possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea.
He replied, “I made a huge difference to that one!”
Author Unknown
What is the value of a person’s life? Does it depend on how rich or famous the person is? It would appear that, society, by and large, pays attention if you are either wealthy or well-known. Let me ask you another question. What is the value of a criminal’s life, especially someone facing the gallows? Is it worth anything? Is he worth helping?
I grew up in a small town called Taiping in Malaysia. In the 80s,when I was in secondary school, I had an experience which left an indelible mark on me. One day, after school, my friends and I were taking a carefree stroll towards a stall to have lunch. We had to cut through the local hospital to get there. The hospital facilities were very spread out, separated by narrow roads, open space and trees.As we were walking, suddenly we heard a honk from a young man on a motorcycle with an elderly Malay man as a pillion. It turned out that the rider was trying to get the elderly man to the emergency ward as he was very sick. However, the old man was frail and weak, and could not hold on to the man while they were riding. The motorcyclist stopped and asked us to help while he tried to get an ambulance. We helped the old man rest under a tree. He was breathing heavily and it looked like he was having a severe asthma attack. There were about seven of us watching and waiting anxiously for help to arrive. In a matter of minutes we witnessed the old man’s gradual loss of breath. His eyes looked weak and his mouth was half open. He was helpless, which matched our feelings – we were all helpless and did not know what to do. Shortly after that, he breathed his last. That was the first time I had watched someone die. Although the seven of us were from different backgrounds, at that moment, we saw something we will all inevitably face – death. We did not know the man’s name, where he lived or what his education level was – but we wanted to help him. We wished we could have done something to save his life. Was he a bad or good person? Was he rich or famous? It did not matter. I just wished I could have done something to make a difference.
This eye-opening incident was one of the reasons I volunteered to help a senior lawyer in a LASCO1 case. I remember his words to me – “Let’s try to save his life”. Little did he know how much those words resonated with me. As trusted criminal lawyer, we are well placed to make a difference in someone’s life. We will not be able to help everyone, but we can certainly help someone.