SINGAPORE - The Public Defender’s Office (PDO), which was launched on Thursday, is a major and necessary step to ensuring access to justice, said members of the legal fraternity.
The PDO, a fully government-funded department of the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), will work alongside the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas), which is run by Pro Bono SG, formerly known as the Law Society Pro Bono Services.
Chairman of the Pro Bono SG board Gregory Vijayendran said that Clas and the PDO will work together.
He added that there will be little change to Clas aside from an increased caseload, since the PDO will cover those up to the 35th percentile of income, up from the 25th percentile, and will cover more offences.
Clas will continue to provide legal aid to foreigners, who are not covered by the PDO.
Mr Vijayendran said: “We see ourselves working in tandem in the unity of purpose together with the PDO to ensure that criminal legal aid is given to those who need it.”
Clas, founded in 1985, is 75 per cent funded by the Government and 25 per cent funded by private donations.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law Rahayu Mahzam said in Parliament in August that the Government funded 712 Clas cases in financial year 2020. MinLaw estimated that this number will likely increase by about 50 per cent for the PDO.
Lawyers The Straits Times spoke to see the PDO as an essential step towards ensuring legal access for all, with veteran criminal lawyer Amolat Singh calling it “the coming of age and maturing of the criminal justice system”.
“The one thing the PDO must work hard at is to dispel the notion that its lawyers are paid by the Government and may not be independent or may not try hard enough to clash with their paymasters because the prosecution is also paid by the same paymaster,” he added.
“Of course, this is untrue. And if the Lasco scheme (Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences) is anything to go by, Lasco lawyers go all out as part of their sacred oath to do the best for the client, no matter how heinous the crime,” said Mr Singh.
The scheme offers free legal representation to those facing capital charges at trial and on appeal.
Invictus Law managing director Josephus Tan likewise described the launch as a long time coming.
“We cannot say that there is true access to justice without having a public defender’s office,” he said.
He noted that public awareness of the PDO remains key to its success. “There are still many Singaporeans who don’t know where to go when they need legal help, and are not aware that there are avenues for free legal representation and legal advice.”
Mr Sunil Sudheesan, head of the criminal division at Quahe Woo and Palmer, called the launch of the PDO “a historical milestone for the legal community”.
Asked if there would be concerns from accused individuals about Chief Public Defender Wong Kok Weng being a former deputy public prosecutor (DPP), he said: “(Mr Wong) is a man with an extremely good heart, and I think that’s the basis you need for somebody running the PDO.”
Mr Sunil, who is also president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore, said he was not particularly concerned about former DPPs joining the PDO, as many former DPPs have joined the private sector and “become thorns in the side of the AGC in a good way”.
“Ultimately, our society will benefit from a PDO that will challenge the AGC to be better,” he added.
