Eugene Thuraisingam

Eugene Singarajah Thuraisingam (born 10 June 1975) is an international arbitration and commercial litigation lawyer from Singapore. He is the founder of the law firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP ("ET LLP"), a law firm that specialises in international arbitration and criminal and commercial litigation.^[1] He is also known for his advocacy of human rights^[2][3] and for being a staunch opponent and outspoken critic of the death penalty in Singapore.^[4][5][6][7] In relation to his domestic practice as a criminal lawyer in Singapore, Thuraisingam was also known for defending many alleged suspects in high profile criminal trials, including those who are dissidents and critics of the government of Singapore.^[8] For his legal service for many defendants in the court of Singapore, Doyles Guide has named him as a leading criminal defence lawyer in Singapore in 2020.^[9]

Education and career[]

Thuraisingam, who was born in Singapore in 1975, attended Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore, where he was placed on the Dean's List in his final year of study.^{[10][better source needed]}

After he was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2001, Thuraisingam practised law at Allen & Gledhill for nine years and at Stamford Law Corporation for another three years before he founded his own law firm, Eugene Thuraisingam LLP (ET LLP), in 2012.^{[10][better source needed]}

ET LLP was named as one of the top two criminal law firms in Singapore in the inaugural Singapore's Best Law Firms 2021 undertaken by The Straits Times and German-based research firm Statista.^[11]

In 2021 and in conjunction of ET LLP's 9th anniversary and in partnership with the Law Society Pro Bono Services (LSPBS), SGD 100,000 was raised for LSPBS' campaign, 'inclusive justice', which supports LSPBS' court representation schemes for foreigners in areas of criminal legal aid, matrimonial matters and more. Thuraisingam intends for this to be an annual event to raise funds for LSPBS.^[12]

Anti-death penalty poem controversy[]

In 2017, Thuraisingam was brought to court by Lucien Wong, the Attorney-General, for allegedly scandalising the judiciary when he wrote a poem, titled Our Five Stars Dim Tonight, critical of the death penalty hours before the execution of drug trafficker Muhammad Ridzuan Md Ali, whom he had represented.^[13] Thuraisingam is said to have intended to bring home the point that the rich and powerful people in Singapore did not care about the unfairness of the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking as most of the people facing the death penalty come from very poor backgrounds. Thuraisingam was fined S$6,000 by the court.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]} Wong also lodged a complaint to the Law Society in relation to the same poem. A disciplinary tribunal appointed by Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice, held that Thuraisingam had not intended to attack the judiciary in his poem, which was found to be in contempt of court. They held that the references to judges in the poem 'is more likely to have been an authorial misstep than a deliberate assault upon judicial integrity'. Nevertheless, Thuraisingam was fined a further S$5,000 by the Law Society for penning the poem.^[21][22]

Awards[]

In 2016, Thuraisingam received the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences award from Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice of Singapore, for his work in defending accused persons in death penalty cases.^[5][23]

In 2021, the Singapore Law Society Pro bono Ambassador award was presented to him by its President, Mr Gregory Vijayendran for his unstinting dedication to taking on pro bono cases for impecunious Singaporeans.^[24]

References[]