SINGAPORE: Lawyer Chia Boon Teck resigned as vice-president and council member of the Law Society of Singapore on Tuesday (Mar 25), following online backlash and condemnation after his comments on a recent rape case.
"Mr Chia Boon Teck has resigned from council this morning, and the president has accepted his resignation. His resignation takes effect immediately," the Law Society said in a statement.
"We thank Mr Chia for his service and contributions during his tenure on council and wish him well in his future endeavours".
Law Society president Lisa Sam had earlier asked Mr Chia to resign, saying his comments and views on the matter were unacceptable.
Mr Chia had posted on LinkedIn about the case of former Wah!Banana actor Lev Panfilov, who was convicted last Friday of rape, sexual assault by penetration and molest, all involving the same female victim.
In his post, Mr Chia appeared to question the victim’s actions during the offences.
His comments were widely seen as victim-shaming, drawing sharp criticism from members of the legal fraternity, advocacy group AWARE, as well as Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
Mr Chia is the co-managing director of law firm Chia Wong Chambers. According to his profile on his firm's website, he had been the vice-president of the Law Society since August 2023 and was its treasurer prior to that.
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"Mr Chia Boon Teck has resigned from council this morning, and the president has accepted his resignation. His resignation takes effect immediately," the Law Society said in a statement.
"We thank Mr Chia for his service and contributions during his tenure on council and wish him well in his future endeavours".
Law Society president Lisa Sam had earlier asked Mr Chia to resign, saying his comments and views on the matter were unacceptable.
Mr Chia had posted on LinkedIn about the case of former Wah!Banana actor Lev Panfilov, who was convicted last Friday of rape, sexual assault by penetration and molest, all involving the same female victim.
In his post, Mr Chia appeared to question the victim’s actions during the offences.
His comments were widely seen as victim-shaming, drawing sharp criticism from members of the legal fraternity, advocacy group AWARE, as well as Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
Mr Chia is the co-managing director of law firm Chia Wong Chambers. According to his profile on his firm's website, he had been the vice-president of the Law Society since August 2023 and was its treasurer prior to that.
Continue reading...