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Eleven trainee lawyers have been found to have cheated on their 2020 online Bar examination in Singapore.
High Court Judge Choo Han Teck issued a judgment against six of the trainees earlier this week. Five additional cases have since been reported.
The first six trainee lawyers have had their admission to the bar delayed. Five were found to have shared answers in six papers through the online messaging platform WhatsApp and had to retake the exam after they were discovered and then admitted to wrongdoing as soon as an inquiry commenced.
The remaining trainee was found to have colluded with another person who sat for the examination. She initially denied having cheated in three of the papers but later filed an affidavit two days before the admission hearing, apologizing for her conduct. She, too, had to retake the exam.
All six have since passed their examinations, but Singapore Attorney General Lucien Wong has delayed their applications to be called to the bar. Wong is former chairman and senior partner of the Singapore law firm Allen & Gledhill.
The AG was of the view that the applicants lacked honesty and integrity and should not be admitted to the bar at least not for a while since it is questionable whether they can presently swear the oath on admission, which requires them to declare that they will truly and honestly conduct themselves in the practice of an advocate and solicitor according to the best of knowledge and ability and according to law, Justice Choo wrote in his judgment.
The group of five’s applications to be called to the bar have been postponed for six months. The sixth lawyer’s application has been postponed for 12 months.
To avoid having the six trainees subjected to prejudice in the future, the court redacted their names and directed that the file be sealed.
Singapore law graduates have to go through a six month course, pass the bar exam and complete a six-month training contract with a law firm before qualifying to be called to the bar.
According to Choo, the decision to adjourn their admissions was not intended as a punishment but instead for the six to reflect on the error of their ways.
He also commented on what he feared was a growing culture of cheating.
When so many applicants cheated in a professional qualifying examination in so many papers, including one for Ethics and professional responsibility, then something is wrong somewhere, he wrote.
Dishonesty and lack of probity are not the only vices in question in this matter. When a person resorts to cheating in an examination, it also reveals a lack of diligence, and a propensity to take shortcuts neither of which are sound professional qualities, he added.
Choo also questioned whether the way in which the exams were administered, which was online, created an environment more conducive to cheating.
The choice to adjourn the six applicants call to Bar and protection of their identities have been partly viewed by the market as too lenient a consequence. Associates in Singapore have expressed concern with one lawyer at a international law firm saying, Disciplinary matters for the legal profession have always been public, and it reflects the public trust reposed in members of the bar to act honourably. The legal profession is one of the few professions that requires one to be Carefulu and proper person.
The public disquiet, which is not confined to members of the bar, over this incident is telling, he added.
In Canada, the Law Society of Ontario is currently investigating an unspecified number of individuals who may have been involved in a cheating incident that revolved around bar exams that were to be administered online in March. Those exams were canceled at the last minute after the breach was detected and have been rescheduled for later this year, to be taken in-person only.
11 Trainee Lawyers Are Found to Have Cheated on Singapore Bar Examination
Eleven trainee lawyers have been found to have cheated on their 2020 online Bar examination in Singapore.
High Court Judge Choo Han Teck issued a judgment against six of the trainees earlier this week. Five additional cases have since been reported.
The first six trainee lawyers have had their admission to the bar delayed. Five were found to have shared answers in six papers through the online messaging platform WhatsApp and had to retake the exam after they were discovered and then admitted to wrongdoing as soon as an inquiry commenced.
The remaining trainee was found to have colluded with another person who sat for the examination. She initially denied having cheated in three of the papers but later filed an affidavit two days before the admission hearing, apologizing for her conduct. She, too, had to retake the exam.
All six have since passed their examinations, but Singapore Attorney General Lucien Wong has delayed their applications to be called to the bar. Wong is former chairman and senior partner of the Singapore law firm Allen & Gledhill.
The AG was of the view that the applicants lacked honesty and integrity and should not be admitted to the bar at least not for a while since it is questionable whether they can presently swear the oath on admission, which requires them to declare that they will truly and honestly conduct themselves in the practice of an advocate and solicitor according to the best of knowledge and ability and according to law, Justice Choo wrote in his judgment.
The group of five’s applications to be called to the bar have been postponed for six months. The sixth lawyer’s application has been postponed for 12 months.
To avoid having the six trainees subjected to prejudice in the future, the court redacted their names and directed that the file be sealed.
Singapore law graduates have to go through a six month course, pass the bar exam and complete a six-month training contract with a law firm before qualifying to be called to the bar.
According to Choo, the decision to adjourn their admissions was not intended as a punishment but instead for the six to reflect on the error of their ways.
He also commented on what he feared was a growing culture of cheating.
When so many applicants cheated in a professional qualifying examination in so many papers, including one for Ethics and professional responsibility, then something is wrong somewhere, he wrote.
Dishonesty and lack of probity are not the only vices in question in this matter. When a person resorts to cheating in an examination, it also reveals a lack of diligence, and a propensity to take shortcuts neither of which are sound professional qualities, he added.
Choo also questioned whether the way in which the exams were administered, which was online, created an environment more conducive to cheating.
The choice to adjourn the six applicants call to Bar and protection of their identities have been partly viewed by the market as too lenient a consequence. Associates in Singapore have expressed concern with one lawyer at a international law firm saying, Disciplinary matters for the legal profession have always been public, and it reflects the public trust reposed in members of the bar to act honourably. The legal profession is one of the few professions that requires one to be ‘fit and proper person.
The public disquiet, which is not confined to members of the bar, over this incident is telling, he added.
In Canada, the Law Society of Ontario is currently investigating an unspecified number of individuals who may have been involved in a cheating incident that revolved around bar exams that were to be administered online in March. Those exams were canceled at the last minute after the breach was detected and have been rescheduled for later this year, to be taken in-person only.
