Ex-lawyer jailed 9 months for pocketing clients' money

[General Veers]

Updated: 08/05/2013 18:45 | By Channel NewsAsia

Ex-lawyer jailed 9 months for pocketing clients' money

Selena Chiong Chin May (above) was found guilty of six counts of criminal breach of trust of $12,900 and pretending that she was authorised to act as an advocate and solicitor. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

SINGAPORE: A former lawyer was sentenced by a district court on Monday to nine months' jail for pocketing S$12,900 in legal fees from her clients.

42-year-old Selena Chiong Chin May was also fined S$6,000 for acting as an advocate and solicitor in a divorce suit when her practicing certificate had already expired.

Chiong was convicted in May after a seven-day trial, and was found guilty of six counts of Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT) where she misappropriated sums of between S$1,000 and S$3,000, as well as one count of pretending that she was authorised to act as an advocate and solicitor.

The offences took place in 2010, when she was working as an associate at CH Chan & Company.

Chiong is appealing against the conviction and sentence, and is now out on a S$20,000 bail.

She could have been jailed up to 15 years and fined on each charge of CBT, and jailed six months and fined S$25,000 for acting as a lawyer without being authorised to do so.

- CNA/nd