For making "baseless and grave" allegations against the Attorney-General, prosecutors, and the Law Society that damage the integrity of Singapore's legal system, M. Ravi has received the maximum suspension of five years.
After the Court of Appeal revoked his client's death sentence in 2020, he wrote remarks on the sociopolitical website The Online Citizen (TOC) and on Facebook, which constituted his misconduct.
A disciplinary tribunal had already found Mr. Ravi guilty on three out of four charges of misconduct and sentenced him to pay a $6,000 fine, but the Law Society pressed for harsher penalties.
The Court of Three Judges stated on Tuesday that Mr. Ravi's grave claims against major pillars of Singapore's legal system went beyond attacks on the integrity of these institutions and, more fundamentally, cast doubt on the fairness and integrity of the whole criminal justice system.
In a written ruling given by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, the court stated, "Mr. Ravi's misconduct demonstrates a basic lack of concern and a flagrant contempt for the integrity of Singapore's core legal institutions."
The court stated that Mr. Ravi's behavior "reveals an entrenched mindset that speaks to a character flaw rather than a mere failure in judgment."
The court stated, "Mr. Ravi's misbehavior is exacerbated by his persistent efforts to damage the integrity of the legal profession by ignoring the facts."
Mr. Ravi represented Gobi Avedian, a Malaysian, in a case in which he sought a review of his death sentence for the importation of 40.22g of heroin.
In 2017, Gobi avoided the death penalty after the Supreme Court convicted him on a lesser offense and sentenced him to 15 years in prison and 10 cane strokes.
After the prosecution filed an appeal, the Court of Appeal convicted Gobi of the initial capital accusation in 2018.
After reviewing Gobi's case in 2020, the supreme court reversed its prior judgement and reinstated his first conviction and sentence in light of its verdict in a different case.
Mr. Ravi gave an interview to TOC outside the Supreme Court building on October 19, 2020, just after the court's verdict.
He said that the Attorney General had been "overzealous" in prosecuting Gobi and that the highest court had questioned whether the prosecution had behaved properly.
The next day, Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair wrote to Mr. Ravi requesting an apology and retraction.
Mr. Ravi shared the letter on Facebook and stated in the post that his client had asked him to pursue legal action against the Attorney-General and other prosecutors.
In addition, he stated that he would initiate legal action against the Law Society if it failed to "defend attorneys and the independence of the profession."
Mr. Ravi replied to Mr. Nair through email, repeating that he had been directed to pursue legal action, and posted his response to Facebook.
After a complaint by Mr. Nair, the Law Society filed four allegations of professional misconduct against Mr. Ravi. A separate disciplinary panel convicted him guilty on three counts.
Tuesday, the court ruled that a dismissal should be considered in this instance.
But, after analyzing the relevant precedents and the specifics of the case, the court determined that the maximum suspension period is the appropriate punishment.
The court recognized Mr. Ravi's 15-year history of similar disciplinary actions. Included are a one-year ban for behaving rudely in front of a district judge, a $3,000 fine for making different charges against a High Court judge, and a $10,000 fine for making similar allegations against a deputy public prosecutor and a district judge.
"These antecedents indicate Mr. Ravi's degree of obstinacy and expose the clear insincerity behind his professed sorrow in each consecutive incident," it stated.
Mr. Ravi's behavior at the court hearing demonstrated "an absolute lack of remorse" as he dug down on his accusations and even stated that the supreme court had abdicated its responsibilities by not reviewing Gobi's case.
The court stated that it was clear that Mr. Ravi saw himself as a victim of a system that condoned the abuse of prosecutorial authority and the abdication of duty by the court, and that he portrayed himself as someone who "zealously pursued" his oath within this purportedly unfair and repressive system.
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