Eugene Thuraisingam
Eugene Singarajah Thuraisingam | |
---|---|
Born | Singapore | 10 June 1975
Nationality | Singaporean |
Education | Bachelor of Laws |
Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Known for | International arbitration Commercial litigation Criminal litigation Public Interest litigation |
Children | 3 |
Website | https://thuraisingam.com/ |
Eugene Singarajah Thuraisingam (born 10 June 1975) is a Singaporean lawyer. He is the founder of the law firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, a law firm that specialises in
Education and career
Thuraisingam, who was born in Singapore in 1975, attended
After he was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2001, Thuraisingam practised law at
ET LLP was named as one of the top two criminal law firms in Singapore in the inaugural Singapore's Best Law Firms 2021 undertaken by The Straits Times and German-based research firm Statista.[11]
In 2021 and in conjunction of ET LLP's 9th anniversary and in partnership with the Law Society Pro Bono Services (LSPBS), SGD 100,000 was raised for LSPBS' campaign, 'inclusive justice', which supports LSPBS' court representation schemes for foreigners in areas of criminal legal aid, matrimonial matters and more. Thuraisingam intends for this to be an annual event to raise funds for LSPBS.[12]
Cases taken by Thuraisingam
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam
In May 2019, Thuraisingam represented
Woodlands double murder
In July 2019, Thuraisingam represented former property agent
2016 Toa Payoh child abuse case
In November 2019, Thuraisingam represented
Boh Soon Ho
Another one of the cases taken by Thuraisingam was the case of
Tanah Merah ferry terminal killer
Thuraisingam also took charge of defending
Trial of Ahmed Salim
From September 2020 to December 2020, Thuraisingam and his firm associates Chooi Jing Yen and Hamza Malik represented a Bangldeshi painter on trial for killing his Indonesian girlfriend. The defendant, 31-year-old Ahmed Salim, committed the crime in December 2018 at a Geylang hotel due to the victim, 34-year-old domestic maid Nurhidayati Wartono Surata, wanting to break up with him in favour of another man, which prompted Ahmed to plan to murder the maid should she reject his final request to reconcile with him. Thuraisingam argued that Ahmed suffered from diminished responsibility because his adjustment disorder led to a substantial impairment of his mental faculties at the time of the offence, and even argued that he was provoked by Nurhidayati's alleged insults before the killing.[29][30]
However, Ahmed's defences were rejected, and he was therefore convicted of murder under Section 300(a) of the Penal Code and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in December 2020.[31] Thuraisingam continued to represent Ahmed in his appeal, and argued for the reduction of his murder conviction, but the murder conviction and death sentence were both upheld by the Court of Appeal.[32]
Ahmed Salim was executed by hanging in Changi Prison on the Wednesday morning of 28 February 2024.[33]
Muhammad Salihin bin Ismail
Thuraisingam and his colleague Suang Wijaya were both the defence counsel of
Anti-death penalty poem controversy
In 2017, Thuraisingam was brought to court by Lucien Wong, the Attorney-General, for allegedly scandalising the judiciary when he wrote a poem, titled Our Five Stars Dim Tonight, critical of the death penalty hours before the execution of drug trafficker Muhammad Ridzuan Md Ali, whom he had represented.[37] Thuraisingam is said to have intended to bring home the point that the rich and powerful people in Singapore did not care about the unfairness of the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking as most of the people facing the death penalty come from very poor backgrounds. Thuraisingam was fined S$6,000 by the court.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44] Wong also lodged a complaint to the Law Society in relation to the same poem. A disciplinary tribunal appointed by Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice, held that Thuraisingam had not intended to attack the judiciary in his poem, which was found to be in contempt of court. They held that the references to judges in the poem 'is more likely to have been an authorial misstep than a deliberate assault upon judicial integrity'. Nevertheless, Thuraisingam was fined a further S$5,000 by the Law Society for penning the poem.[45][46]
Awards
In 2016, Thuraisingam received the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences award from Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice of Singapore, for his work in defending accused persons in death penalty cases.[5][47]
In 2021, the Singapore Law Society Pro bono Ambassador award was presented to him by its president, Mr Gregory Vijayendran for his unstinting dedication to taking on pro bono cases for impecunious Singaporeans.[48]
References
- ^ "Eugene Thuraisingam LLP - Specialists in Criminal & Commercial Disputes". Eugene Thuraisingam LLP. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ hermes (2019-01-02). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam taking on five high-profile cases this year". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ "Criminal and Human Rights Lawyer Fined $6,000 for a Poem on Death Penalty that "Scandalised the Judicary"". The Online Citizen. 2017-08-07. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ hermes (2016-11-07). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam defends people who might face the death penalty". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ a b Loh, Ronald (2016-11-02). "He gives hope to those on death row". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ hermesauto (2017-08-07). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined $6,000 for contempt of court over Facebook post on death penalty". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ hermesauto (2018-10-29). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined again over poem that was in contempt of court". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ "Commentary: Even criminals deserve justice - and other reasons why lawyers defend them". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
- ^ "Leading Criminal Defence Lawyers - Singapore, 2020". Doyle's Guide. 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
- ^ a b "Eugene Thuraisingam". Eugene Thuraisingam LLP. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ hermesauto (2020-11-16). "Straits Times Best Law Firms 2021 shows spread of large and small firms". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Marathon champion Soh Rui Yong to participate in Eugene Thuraisingam LLP's Run For Justice 10km event to support legal representation schemes for migrants". The Online Citizen Asia. 2021-04-03. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
- ^ "Apex Court dismisses appeals by Malaysian man on death row for 9 years for importing drugs". Today. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Nagaenthran a/l K Dharmalingam v Public Prosecutor and another appeal (2019)" (PDF). Singapore Law Watch. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Singapore executes Malaysian on drugs charges after rejecting mental disability appeal". Today. 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Woodlands double murder: 'Don't be scared, papa is here', accused told daughter before killing her". Today. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Woodlands double-murder: Ex-property agent convicted of strangling pregnant wife and daughter, gets death penalty". The Straits Times. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Apex court upholds death sentence for man who strangled wife and daughter". The Straits Times. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Parents on trial for five-year-old son's death acquitted of murder; other charges pending". The Straits Times. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Couple jailed 27 years each for abusing 5-year-old son who later died; prosecution appealing against murder acquittal". Today (Singapore). 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Public Prosecutor v Azlin bte Arujunah and another (High Court)" (PDF). Singapore Law Watch. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Father of 5-year-old boy who died from abuse gets life sentence, mother convicted of murder after appeal". Today (Singapore). 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Mother who scalded 5-year-old convicted of murder on appeal; father gets life term". CNA. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Public Prosecutor v Azlin bte Arujunah and other appeals (2022) SGCA 52" (PDF). Singapore Law Watch. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Parents get life sentence for scalding their 5-year-old son to death". The Straits Times. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Lum, Selina (8 February 2020). "Circuit Road murder: Man, 51, gets life sentence for strangling nurse". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "'No sudden provocation': Man loses appeal over murdering nurse, trying to have sex with her corpse". Today Singapore. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "Ex-cleaner sentenced to life in jail, 18 strokes of the cane for killing supervisor with grass cutter". The Straits Times. Singapore. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Bangladeshi worker accused of murdering his Indonesian maid girlfriend over infidelity, seeing another man". The Straits Times. 15 September 2020.
- ^ "'Everything is finished for me,' says Bangladeshi on trial for murdering maid girlfriend". The Straits Times. 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Foreign worker to hang for murdering domestic worker girlfriend in Geylang hotel room". TODAY. 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Court dismisses appeal by man sentenced to death for murdering girlfriend in Geylang hotel". CNA. 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Man who killed ex-fiancee is first person to be executed for murder in Singapore since 2019". The Straits Times. 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Man acquitted of murder of 4-year-old stepdaughter in Bukit Batok flat, convicted of causing grievous hurt". Today. 1 March 2022.
- ^ "9 years' jail, caning for man who fatally kicked 4-year-old stepdaughter during toilet training". Today. 9 May 2022.
- ^ "狠踢女童致死案 继父改判谋杀罪 监终身打12鞭". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 2 April 2024.
- ^ hermes (2017-05-20). "Drug trafficker hanged after exhausting avenues of appeal". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Why did AGC proceed with contempt of court case involving lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam?". Mothership.sg. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Criminal and Human Rights Lawyer Fined $6,000 for a Poem on Death Penalty that "Scandalised the Judiciary"". The Online Citizen. 2017-08-07. Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Prominent lawyer fined S$6k for contempt of court". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined $6,000 for contempt of court over Facebook post: report". sg.news.yahoo.com. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "SINGAPORE 2017/2018". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined S$6,000 for contempt of court over Facebook post". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ hermesauto (2017-08-07). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined $6,000 for contempt of court over Facebook post on death penalty". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ hermesauto (2018-10-29). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined again over poem that was in contempt of court". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Tribunal: Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam's Poem was not "a deliberate assault upon judicial integrity"". The Online Citizen. 2018-11-02. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "Singapore lawyer wins award for pro bono work in capital offence cases". Singapore lawyer wins award for pro bono work in capital offence cases. Archived from the original on 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
- ^ hermesauto (2021-02-21). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam hailed for pro bono work". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-09-09.