LIM TEAN v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

[2026] SGCA 31 Court of Appeal 6 July 2026 CA/CM 7/2026 13 min read
8 cases cited

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Key facts

Court Court of Appeal
Decided
Judges See Kee Oon, Sundaresh Menon, Woo Bih Li
Charges / claim Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
Counsel ARShanker Law Chambers, Attorney-General's Chambers, A Revi Shanker s/o K Annamalai, Bryan Wong Jun Bin, Ng Yiwen

Source: [2026] SGCA 31, Court of Appeal, decided — eLitigation. Updated .

Catchwords

Practice Areas

Judges (3)

Counsel (5)

Parties (2)

Case Significance

Lim Tean v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGCA 31 was decided by the Court of Appeal (Sundaresh Menon CJ, Woo Bih Li JAD and See Kee Oon JAD), with See Kee Oon JAD delivering the judgment on 6 July 2026. Criminal Motion No 7 of 2026 sought permission under s 397(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 to refer four questions of law to the Court of Appeal after a High Court Judge enhanced the applicant's aggregate sentence for three charges under s 33(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act to three months and one week's imprisonment. The questions concerned appellate enhancement using a later sentencing framework, amalgamated charges and a custodial default. The court held the questions were not questions of law of public interest and did not arise from the case, and summarily refused the motion.

[2026] SGCA 31 explained

LIM TEAN v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2026] SGCA 31) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Court of Appeal on 6 July 2026. It is categorised under Criminal Procedure and Sentencing. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2026] SGCA 31 about?

LIM TEAN v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2026] SGCA 31) is a Court of Appeal decision from 2026. Its published catchwords are “Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Criminal motions”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2026] SGCA 31 consider?

The judgment refers to Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68) and Legal Profession Act (Cap 161). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2026] SGCA 31 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2026] SGHC 44. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

Summary

The Court of Appeal heard an application by Lim Tean for permission under s 397(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 to refer four questions of law of public interest arising from the High Court's enhancement of his sentence for three offences under s 33(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act. The court found that the questions rested on a misreading of the High Court judgment, did not arise from the case and would not have affected its outcome. It summarily refused the application and ordered him to surrender on 20 July 2026 to begin serving his sentence.

What was Lim Tean v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGCA 31 about?

The Court of Appeal considered Lim Tean's application for permission to refer four questions of law of public interest arising from the High Court's enhancement of his sentence for three Legal Profession Act offences, and summarily refused it.

What did the Court of Appeal decide in CM 7 of 2026 ([2026] SGCA 31)?

The court summarily refused CM 7 without a hearing, holding the questions rested on a misreading of the High Court judgment and would not have affected the outcome, and directed the applicant to surrender on 20 July 2026.

Statutes Cited

Cases Cited (8)

SG (4)
[2005] SGDC 129 [2005] SGDC 147 [2025] SGMC 33 [2026] SGHC 44
SLR (4)
[2014] 4 SLR 661 [2018] 2 SLR 557 [2024] 1 SLR 1210 [2025] 4 SLR 1386

Related cases

Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2026] SGCA 31)