SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — Socio-political blogger Leong Sze Hian has been ordered by a district court to forfeit the entire S$45,000 (RM145,000) bail sum he posted for lawyer Lim Tean, after Lim fled to Malaysia to evade a custodial sentence.

Appearing before the State Courts on Thursday, the 72-year-old blogger contested the forfeiture application, arguing that he had made every effort to discharge his responsibilities as a bailor and had communicated with Lim just 24 hours before the lawyer was due to surrender to prison authorities, CNA reported.

“We told Mr Lim that we would send him off. He then messaged me to say there was no need, as he would be making a statement about jobs the next day in the morning before he reported for jail,” said Leong.

Leong added that on the morning Lim was scheduled to begin serving his sentence, Lim’s instructing counsel informed him that the lawyer had formally transferred two active legal briefs.

“So given the circumstances, I had no reason to believe that he was going to run away,” said Leong.

Appealing for judicial leniency, Leong asked the court to weigh his personal hardships, noting that he suffers from a slipped disc and hypertension, while his wife is recovering from two major cancer operations alongside other chronic medical conditions.

He maintained that he had diligently fulfilled his bailor duties over the past six years, keeping in “constant contact” with Lim during every court appearance and police interview since the lawyer’s initial arrest in October 2020 on suspicion of criminal breach of trust.

Leong asserted that in the month before Lim was due to report to prison, he was contacting him “almost daily” or at least once every two days.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong pressed for total forfeiture, arguing that Leong failed to maintain mandatory daily contact and neglected to verify Lim’s whereabouts on the surrender date until prompted by an investigation officer.

District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution, ruling that the full S$45,000 must be surrendered because Leong failed to uphold his core obligations as a surety.

Chay reminded Leong that standing bail carries strict legal obligations, primarily ensuring that the accused complies with all conditions, including not leaving Singapore without judicial sanction, subject to automatic forfeiture upon default.

Lim, 61, was scheduled to surrender on Aug 3 to commence a jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate. Instead, he slipped out of the country, triggering an arrest warrant.

He was apprehended by the Royal Malaysia Police on Aug 6 and extradited to the Singapore Police Force on Aug 11. Lim is currently serving his sentence and has not yet been formally charged over the alleged abscondment.

Lim was convicted in July 2024 for unauthorised practice after attending 32 court hearings on behalf of clients in 2021 without a valid practising certificate.

A district court initially sentenced him to six weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 fine in February 2025, but the High Court subsequently enhanced the term to three months and one week after ruling that the initial sentence was “manifestly inadequate”.

Lim was declared bankrupt in April 2026 and fined S$30,000 the same month over professional misconduct involving client funds. Two men were separately charged last month with conspiring to arrange his illegal cross-border escape.

Lim is the founder of the opposition party Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People’s Alliance for Reform, having contested Potong Pasir SMC during the 2025 General Election.

He previously represented Leong in a 2020 defamation lawsuit filed by then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, which resulted in Leong being ordered to pay S$133,000 in damages.